No rain in the forecast, dry conditions impose wildfire dangers in B.C.

The summer-like temperatures we’ve had this spring have led to one very dry month around the region and you better get used to it.

There is no rain in the long-range forecast and that’s concerning on the wildfire front.

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“We’ve only had 16 millimetres of precipitation in May around Metro Vancouver and none in sight. Over the next couple of weeks, we may not even see a sprinkle and that’s taken the forest fire danger rating from moderate to high over the last couple of days and it will likely go from high to extreme across the South Coast in the next week,” explained CityNews Meteorologist Michael Kuss.

He says of those 16 millimetres of rain, 15.6 millimetres of it fell in just one day, back on May 5.

“It’s been a dry May, not record-setting, [but] the driest since 2018 when we barely saw a sprinkle in May. The average [rainfall] for May is 65 millimetres of precipitation, so we’re not even at a quarter of that.”

(Courtesy BC Government)

Kuss admits aside from how dry it’s been, it’s going to stay that way as we approach June.

“We haven’t really seen any significant precipitation in almost a month,” said Kuss. “And we may not see any rain for the next couple of weeks. Long-range projections are not bringing any significant precipitation or really any precipitation at all for southern and central B.C. for the next two weeks potentially.”

(Courtesy Metro Vancouver)

On the flip side, the River Forecast Centre has downgraded a couple of high streamflow advisories in the province. It says water levels around Quesnel and the South Thompson are high now but will recede in the coming days.

It says that “no significant additional river rises are expected at this time.”

(Courtesy Metro Vancouver)

Water reservoir levels on the North Shore are tracking as normal, and Metro Vancouver expects it’ll stay that way before summer arrives and then likely drop like it does every year.

“With a below-than-average snowpack for spring, we expect to reach ‘full pool’ before summer arrives,” says Metro Vancouver’s website. “Currently, both Metro Vancouver reservoirs are below full storage levels as we support the migration of juvenile salmon from Seymour Reservoir and slowly refill Capilano Reservoir to the maximum operating elevation.”