With daytime high temperatures mostly above 0 ºC, little snowfall and some rain over the past two weeks today’s measured snowpack is below the historic minimum for this time of year reports the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority (NBMCA) who measures snow depth and water content as part of its Flood Forecasting and Warning Program. The snowpack has increased by 1.0 cm and the snow water equivalent increased by 3.7 mm since the last snow survey on February 1, 2024.
“The combined average snow depth is 20.7 cm (below historic minimum) and water equivalence is 56.0 mm (well below normal) at the three snow course locations”, said Angela Mills, NBMCA Water Resources Specialist. “Though there is little moisture stored in the snowpack, there are many other factors including early spring rains that will affect water levels and flood risk during freshet”, she added.
NBMCA has changed the way snow survey measurements are compared to historical conditions. With day-to-day differences in snowpack conditions, these changes include reporting a range of normal values that would be expected in most years and communicating a comparison of current measurements relative to these normal conditions. A new Snow Survey web page is available with more snow survey program information and this season's measurements. https://nbmca.ca/watershed-management/snow-survey/
Snow is measured for depth and water equivalence at three locations in the watershed.
North Bay Golf and Country Club (Chippewa Creek Watershed, North Bay)
*Data prior to Dec. 2011 collected at the former Northeast Mental Health Centre, Hwy 11
|
Current Snow Depth for February 15, 2024 |
27.1 cm (below historic minimum) |
|
Water Equivalence for February 15, 2024 |
82.0 mm (historic minimum) |
|
Snow Depth last year for February 15, 2023 |
49.8 cm |
|
Normal Snow Depth |
37.1 cm to 57.1 cm |
|
Highest recorded snow depth for February 15 since 2012* Lowest recorded snow depth for February 15 since 2012* |
84.4 cm in 2019 44.1 cm in 2020 |
Corbeil Conservation Area (La Vase River Watershed, Corbeil)
|
Current Snow Depth for February 15, 2024 |
17.8 cm (below historic minimum) |
|
Current Water Equivalence for February 15, 2024 |
43.0 mm (below historic minimum) |
|
Snow Depth last year for February 15, 2023 |
44.5 cm |
|
Normal Snow Depth |
38.9 cm to 56.0 cm |
|
Highest recorded snow depth for February 15 since 1988 Lowest recorded snow depth for February 15 since 1988 |
84.2 cm in 2019 23.6 cm in 1995 |
Shirley Skinner Conservation Area (Kaibuskong River Watershed, Chisholm)
|
Current Snow Depth for February 15, 2024 |
17.1 cm (below historic minimum) |
|
Current Water Equivalence for February 15, 2024 |
43.0 mm (well below normal) |
|
Snow Depth last year for February 15, 2023 |
42.9 cm |
|
Normal Snow Depth |
40.0 cm to 55.9 cm |
|
Highest recorded snow depth for February 15 since 2007 Lowest recorded snow depth for February 15 since 2007 |
85.2 cm in 2019 29.7 cm in 2007 |
The North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority (NBMCA) was founded in 1972 by the Province of Ontario. NBMCA is one of 36 Conservation Authorities in Ontario responsible for watershed management on behalf of local municipalities, stakeholders, and the province.
The public can follow NBMCA on the web at nbmca.ca, on X (Twitter) (@theNBMCA), Facebook (@theNBMCA) and Instagram (nbmcainfo).
For more information, contact:
Angela Mills, Water Resources Specialist (705) 497-4668
David Ellingwood, Director, Water Resources (705) 474-5420