Snowpack
In general, snow basin indices have remained relatively stable since January 1st, with declining indices in south-west and south-east BC, and increases in the Skeena-Nass, Upper Fraser and Peace. Snow basin indices for February 1st 2017 range from a low of 49% of normal in the Liard to a high of 101% in the Nechako (Table 1 and Figure 1). The province has below-normal snowpack for February 1st, with the average of all snow measurements at 79%. This is down slightly from the provincial average of 82% in January. Well below-normal snowpack (<65%) is present in the Boundary, Stikine and Liard. It is worth noting that both the Stikine and Liard indices are based on limited snow measurements, and low index values may therefore not be fully representative of conditions in these watersheds. Slightly below-normal snowpacks (65-80%) are present in the Upper Fraser, West Kootenay, East Kootenay, Okanagan, Similkameen, Peace and Skeena-Nass. Near-normal snowpacks (80-105%) are present throughout the rest of the province. The February basin index for the entire Fraser River basin is 84%.