I am not sure why you are saying it's been too warm. Where are you getting the data?
Subjectively speaking, it's been pretty cold. And it feels like we've accumulated a lot of snow.
It has indeed been warmer than usual for March. Most places in B.C. have broken all time temperature records in March already, and if you think 18C (currently) is normal for March, I wouldn't know what to tell you. The long term outlook is also calling for a warmer than average spring, and a hotter than average summer, with below average precipitation.
I'm extremely worried for Vancouver Island. It only was registering 85% snow pack back on March 1. The streak of 3 days of 20+ weather we had a couple of weeks ago completely eliminated much of the low elevation snow. I wouldn't be surprised if we are down around 70% or less snowpack when the April 1 report comes out. Rivers peaked on the second day of heat and had already started dropping despite high temps. Add to that, the rivers are already the lowest I've ever seen them going into spring. All the aquifers are going to need SUBSTANTIAL rain to replenish.
To give you a quick break down/example of how dire the situation is/appears to be; Cowichan lake level is currently
holding (due to snow melt ongoing) at .760m. 2015 the lake level on March 31 was 1.903 m. In 2015, the lake levels didn't drop to below .800 m until the very end of July. Most aquafers from what I've seen appear to be even worse than Cowichan.
In short, cross your fingers for a miserable spring, or the summer is going to be brutal for any outdoor activities with fires and drought conditions.
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Topic: 2015 Drought Redux (Read 6379 times)