Provincial snowpack check-in: 95% of normal in the Boundary—here’s what that does (and doesn’t) tell us
BC Snow Survey update (February 2026): The provincial snow monitoring report for February is now posted. It shows the Boundary Region at 95% of normal (https://www2.gov.bc.ca/…/river-forecast/2026_feb1.pdf) … but is that the whole story?
A quick note on what this number represents: it’s based mainly on higher-elevation snow stations—Grano Creek (1870 m) and Big White (manual station at 1680 m). It doesn’t capture what we’re seeing at mid to lower elevations, where snow has been very limited—no snow in Grand Forks (520 m) to low snow near Sentinel Butte (1500 m, south of Grand Forks). https://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/snow/ Two additional snow stations (manual) may be included in the BC spring snow survey update: Carmi (1250 m) and Monashee Pass (1370 m).
** For elevation comparison the highway summit at Paulson/Bonanza Pass is 1535m.
Because we’re still a few months away from the usual peak snowpack period, it’s too early to say what spring melt will look like. Spring conditions depend not just on how much snow we have, but also on temperatures and spring rainfall.
Looking ahead: Environment and Climate Change Canada outlooks continue to indicate warmer-than-normal conditions over the next few months. Longer-range climate signals (ENSO—La Niña/El Niño) are also evolving, which can influence the likelihood of hotter/drier summer patterns—but there’s still a lot of uncertainty.
ENSO forecast: https://iri.columbia.edu/…/climate/forecasts/enso/current/
ECCC Probabilistic forecast: https://weather.gc.ca/saisons/prob_e.html
One thing we often see in the Boundary is that a “low snow year” at one elevation doesn’t always line up with other elevations. You can see that in the low-snow years recorded at different monitoring stations:
• Sentinel Butte Stn (@ 1500 m): 2005 and 2015
• Grano Creek Stn (@ 1870 m): 2014 and 2019
https://www.facebook.com/BIWS.RDKB
What low-snow winters stand out in your memory in the Boundary?
Are you noticing increased river and/or groundwater well levels compared to normal?
How are these snow conditions affecting you?
To get information on the BC snow monitoring stations, go to the “Snow Survey Stations Interactive Maps”. To access the Grano Creek Station map directly, go to: bcmoe-prod.aquaticinformatics.net/Report/Show/
Snow.2E07P.Automated%20Snow%20Weather%20Station%20Graph/
What are you doing to help ensure water remains available for all species in these watersheds. 
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Last week’s rain made our river levels rise a bit, but they’re still lower than usual for this time of year.
Have you noticed the levels dropping quickly? The gr
With the hot weather continuing and only a bit of rain forecasted, our river levels will likely keep falling across the Boundary Region while the fire danger rating increase. 
The hydrographs below show river water and groundwater levels for the Granby River, Kettle River, and West Kettle River. The second graph in the image highlights the groundwater well level that is most closely connected to these rivers. 
