B.C. South Coast drought expected to end; Interior, NE remain uncertain
Posted October 12, 2023 5:07 pm.
While B.C.’s South Coast has seen some much-needed rain the past few weeks, drought conditions could persist through the winter in other parts of the province, according to the BC River Forecast Centre.
Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist with the agency, tells CityNews that while water levels in southwestern B.C. are improving, the same can’t be said for the Interior and northern regions of the province.
“For the Interior, it truly is tough to imagine a major end of the drought relief right now,” he said.
The River Forecast Centre had B.C.’s South Coast, including Vancouver Island at drought level 3 on the scale out of five as of Thursday. Parts of the Fraser Valley and Interior are at level 4, while much of northeastern B.C. is under level 5.
The overall drought rating provincewide is level 3, which Boyd notes is down from the level 5 ranking seen in the summer.
Boyd says October is an important month in alleviating drought conditions in the Interior and northern regions of the province, as heavy rainfall is needed before rivers and groundwater freezes. He says the lack of precipitation could impact wildfires that are still burning, as was seen last year.
“There were fires that stayed active last year through the winter underground because the drought relief didn’t happen. There wasn’t that heavy precipitation that actually seeped down into the ground to alleviate those fires,” he said.
As for how much rain is needed to avoid drought conditions everywhere, Boyd says consistent rainfall over a long period of time is key.
“The most ideal situation would be to have a reasonable rain system once a week over the next four to five weeks and maybe even two that are moderately sized,” he said.
“Not necessarily the atmospheric river storms, but a widespread rainfall event that covers the entire coast.”
While the remainder of the fall forecast is still being figured out, Boyd says provincewide, this has been the worst drought ever recorded in B.C.
“Overall, provincial perspective from precipitation flow, groundwater levels, this really has been … the worst documented. It really hasn’t been seen this widespread for the province,” he said.
With files from Cole Schisler
