City of Kamloops manager says snowfall may be unpredictable, but snow clearing budget can't be

Snow clearing under budget

Photo: Josh Dawson

Vehicles drive through snowy weather in downtown Kamloops on Dec. 1, 2025.

A mere centimetre of snowfall was recorded in Kamloops in the first month of 2026, but a stretch of mild winter weather does not necessarily equal savings in the city's $1.9-million snow-clearing budget.

Jeff Putnam, streets and parks manager for the City of Kamloops, said the municipality budgets $1.9 million for snow clearing each year. In 2025, the city came in at about $85,000 under budget.

This falls in line with the city’s average snow clearing costs tracked over the last few years, which shows the actual snow clearing spend is about $1.7 million — a few hundred thousand dollars under budget.

But the variability of snowfall events and the need to budget for year-round equipment operators mean the annual snow-clearing budget isn't likely to see a change anytime soon.

“We have seen a trend of less frequent snowfall events, but that doesn't necessarily always equate to savings,” Putnam said, adding that while snow events seem to be less frequent, the storms themselves aren’t getting any less intense.

“You still need all that equipment and you need the staff."

Feast or famine

Ken Dosanjh, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said December 2025 saw 31.7 centimetres of snowfall. Much of this snow fell within a handful of days at the beginning of the month and around Christmas.

By comparison, 33.2 centimetres of snow fell over a four-month stretch between November 2024 and February 2025.

Meanwhile, Dosanjh said January recorded only 1 centimetre of snow — 0.3 centimetres on Jan. 3 and 0.7 centimetres on Jan. 7. It was the sixth driest January on record.

Putnam said this variability makes it difficult to forecast snow-clearing needs in advance, which is why the city considers its cost averages over the past three years.

He noted the fiscal year runs from January to December, but the winter season runs from October to March — so the annual budget must cover two winter season stretches.

While Kamloops has seen almost no snowfall in January, there’s still plenty of winter left this year, including the months in late 2026.

If there are budget savings in a fiscal year, it’s often because there are fewer overtime shifts needed to clear snow on weekends and overnight.

Any savings are put into the general reserves.

Plow drivers stay busy

Putnam said there’s plenty of non-snow-related duties that staff perform year-round, including potholing, hauling material, removing debris and cleaning up the aftermath of car crashes.

"There's a lot of stuff that we're constantly doing, so we don't have any difficulty finding other duties for the staff,” he said.

When temperatures at night are above zero, crews get started with street sweeping to get ahead of spring clean-up, a task that is already underway with the absence of snow in January.

Putnam said crews are focusing on sweeping up bike lanes along arterial roads, particularly those that have heavier deposits of winter sand accumulations.

While the Kamloops region has seen a mild and dry start to the year, snowfall has reappeared in the forecast for next week.

Environment Canada is predicting a dip in temperatures on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a chance of flurries overnight.

“It looks like there's a cold front through the last two weeks in February. And there could be snow accumulation in the valley,” Putnam said.

“We're prepared and ready to go for it.”