Okanagan reports lower-than-normal snowpack as provincial average remains healthy

Local snowpacks sitting low

Photo: BC River Forecast Centre

As of February 1, 2026, the provincial mountain snowpack is normal, but the Okanagan is showing cause for concern.

The second snowpack report of 2026 has now been released.

The report released February 10 shows the provincial mountain snowpack is normal, averaging 96 per cent of normal, a decrease from 107 per cent on January 1, but an increase of 24 per cent from the same time last year.

The news for the Okanagan isn't as positive, however.

The Okanagan is one of two regions significantly lower this month, coming in at 67 per cent, as opposed to 90 per cent, a drop of 23 points from January. Vancouver Island is down to 39 per cent from 58 per cent last January and 82 per cent last year.

River Forecast Centre hydrologist Jonathan Boyd tells Castanet, "it's not absolutely dire at this moment."

"Oftentimes, we can get a little bit wetter and quite a bit of a bounce back in the Okanagan in March or early April, just because of the way that weather systems move through that region."

The Similkameen, meanwhile, sits at 104 per cent of normal, down from 146 per cent in the last report.

Elsewhere around the province, the snowpack in the North Thompson remained steady at 103, no change from January and an increase of 23 points from this time last year. The snowpack in South Thompson dropped from 93 to 81 per cent of normal.

The situation in the Boundary and Kootenays tells a similar story, with the Boundary reporting 95 per cent and the West Kootenay at 105 per cent of normal.

Snowpack is much higher than February 2025, when the provincial average was 72 per cent of normal.

"What I've been hearing in the media is that the provincial snowpack is incredibly low. And it's not the case for the whole province, but certainly the greatest population centres, Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, and then the Okanagan area, are all at the lowest," says Boyd.

Areas in the province with below normal snowpack indicate the possibility of drought conditions, worsening in the spring and summer. However, there are still two to three months remaining for snow accumulation. Typically, two-thirds of the annual B.C. snowpack has accumulated by Feb 1.

"April 1 is kind of that defining point where we know for sure what to likely expect from the upcoming season."

The snowpack figures are derived from data from 78 manual snow courses and 116 automated snow weather stations around the province.

Data from manual measurements at Postill Lake, outside Kelowna, are at 43 per cent of normal, a 75-year low.

"When you have a measurement that is the all-time lowest, it just goes to show how extreme this year has been in pockets of the Okanagan and also just how concerning this low snowpack is that we're establishing records over 75 years at a specific site," Boyd says.

Much of B.C. is still undergoing drought conditions, which could adversely impact the province's summer of 2026 wildfire outlook.

"It's always a catch-22... as a scientist, I analyze what is present," Boyd said.

"What we don't want to see happen is continued dry weather for the Okanagan. 2023 was the hottest and driest May, which led to a rapid melt of a relatively normal snow pack that year. But 2023 was our worst year for drought. And then, of course, the wildfires."

Photo: BC River Forecast Centre

South Interior snow station map.