Abstract
AbstractPotential historical temporal trends in the overwinter and spring snowpack were investigated for the Canadian portions of the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys in south-central British Columbia. Significant evidence is available that the Okanagan and Similkameen River watersheds are exhibiting both spatially and temporally heterogeneous declines in snowpacks over the past several decades, but whether the causes are part of a natural cycle or result from longer term climatic changes is not clear. The variability in the magnitude, timing, and location of any significant time trends in snowpack decline also precludes efforts towards developing reliable hydrologic models that reflect a response to potential future changes in snowpack patterns for these regions of British Columbia.
Highlights
Snowpack records as snow water equivalents (SWEs; in mm) were obtained on the dates January 1, February 1, March 1, April 1, May 1, and May 15 of each year from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment – Water Stewardship Division for six sites in the Similkameen River watershed and 18 sites in the Okanagan River watershed (Figure 1 and Table 1)
As part of our continuing studies into the hydrology and climate of this region [17-21], in the current work we investigate potential historical temporal trends in the overwinter and spring snowpack for the Canadian portions of the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys
The majority of the declines were observed during the spring period on April 1 (n=11) and May 1 (n=11), with progressively fewer declines moving from early spring into late- and mid-winter, respectively (March 1, n=9; February 1, n=4; and January 1, n=1), indicating that the greatest likelihood of a declining historical snowpack trend exists closest in time to the major melt period
Summary
As part of our continuing studies into the hydrology and climate of this region [17-21], in the current work we investigate potential historical temporal trends in the overwinter and spring snowpack for the Canadian portions of the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys. Snowpack records as snow water equivalents (SWEs; in mm) were obtained on the dates January 1, February 1, March 1, April 1, May 1, and May 15 of each year from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment – Water Stewardship Division (available online at http://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/mss/stationlist.do) for six sites in the Similkameen River watershed and 18 sites in the Okanagan River watershed (Figure 1 and Table 1).
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