BC is largely made up of mountains. Knowing how much snow (and rain) has fallen on those mountain tops during the winter is very important information. It gives some indication of what kind of things the province might experience in the upcoming summer. Might there be flooding? Might there be drought conditions? Will there be enough water in the rivers for the electricity that is generated by the dams? It is good to know those kind of things in advance, so preparations can be made to help minimize potential problems.
To get that sort of information, BC uses a technology called “Snow Pillows” which they place in alpine areas around the province. These pad-like items measure the weight of the snow that is on top of them. If rain falls on the snow, that also adds to the weight that is measured. That information is electronically sent to a center that has gathered and recorded the data for decades.
The graph above shows what has been recorded this year (the dark blue line), the amount of snow recorded last year (the green line), and the pink line that shows the historical amount of snowfall (and rain) on our local mountains over the years
Seeing that the blue line is just above the “normal” range is good news for the Robson Valley. For several years we have been experiencing drought-like conditions locally. Of course, we could still experience a summer of drought, but at least there should be a good deal of water in the local creeks and springs that are fed by the snow in the alpine.
Sunbeam Creek, where we get our water, had a very low flow last year. Hopefully, things will be back to normal this summer.
Below is a photo of some of the snow-capped mountains, where the local snow pillow is located.
You can see my paintings at: davidmarchant2.ca
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