Drought seems to be on the minds of a few – but the lakes have not thawed, the snow on the hilltops has not melted.

A few predictions:

The snowpack levels this year will be below normal. The white powder dust visible to the west in the valley will be gone in two weeks. MOTI culvert will do the job for the next 50 years. I doubt there will be flooding without a massive amount of rain.

As for a fire season – I think that is up to man not nature. There is very little timber to burn.

The large lakes – Okanagan and Osoyoos will be managed to retain as much water as possible and drained only if rainfall and run off threaten the standard levels.

Washington State Department of Ecology wants residents around Osoyoos Lake to be aware that the level of the lake can rise above 913 feet, as high as 915 feet, during the spring freshet.

Al Josephy, of that department says

“Although the very high levels are rare, we’re reminding lake residents that it can cause inconvenience and occasional flooding to property owners along the lake and down to the site of the Zosel dam itself.”

Osoyoos Lake is now at 910.32 feet, and has been rising steadily this week.

Serious flooding last year in Osoyoos with lake level at 915.32