The Yukon’s latest snow bulletin and water supply forecast shows little change from last month.
The April 1 snow survey, which typically captures the peak amount of snow on the ground, puts snowpack levels across the territory at various values ranging from below average in Southern Lakes to above average in the Klondike region around Dawson City.
The latest survey of snowpack levels across the territory shows a similar pattern to the March report.
The Dawson/Klondike area snowpack is above average at 125 per cent of the historical median for April 1.
Other regions of interest are close to average or below average.
A summary of the territory’s recent weather and snowpack conditions indicates mostly average snowpack across the Yukon.
However, ice growth or thickness is generally less than average on most lakes and rivers, with the exception of the Porcupine River, which had slightly above average ice thickness, according to an update on the current situation on the Yukon government’s floods website.
Temperatures are forecast to be well above average in the Far North this week, with the expectation that the weather will cool down and become closer to normal for the rest of the month for most of the territory. Water levels and flows are expected to remain stable or rise slowly in the coming week, per the Flood Atlas website.
Break up on the Yukon and Porcupine rivers is anticipated to happen a bit earlier than the long-term average.
“While early melting lowers the risk of ice jams by initiating ice degradation, ice jam flooding remains an ever present risk on the Klondike, Yukon and Porcupine Rivers, as short term weather patterns can still play an outsized role in determining the character of breakup,” reads the update on the current situation.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
