Near normal snowpack levels for East Kootenay region

By: Dave Lueneberg

While parts of BC are down considerably in mountain snowpack levels, this month versus last, the ‘southeast corner’ is fairing well.

According to the Ministry of Water, Lands, & Natural Resources, the East Kootenay had an average snowpack of 94 per cent-of-normal reading May 1 – down from April’s 110 per cent.

Provincially, that figure has fallen from 94 per cent-of-normal to 83, but up from 2025’s 71 per cent.

In its latest survey, the ministry said snowmelt is trending earlier than normal with about a 15 per cent melting rate.

Regions with ‘near to well above normal’ snowpack levels, it warns, could have an increased hazard for spring snowmelt-related flooding.

That could include the Upper Columbia region, to the north, where the snowpack May 1 was 110 per cent-of-normal, a drop of only six per cent from April 1.