RIVER FORECAST CENTRE

River Forecast and Snow Surveys

Staff of the River Forecast Centre (RFC) collect and interpret snow, meteorological and streamflow data to provide warnings and forecasts of stream and lake runoff conditions around the province. Most of the meteorological and streamflow data are collected by other agencies, but the RFC is the lead agency in the province for the collection, quality control, analysis and archiving of snow data.

The pages associated with this site are the principal method by which the data and analyses are disseminated. The following are available:

Interpretation

After each snow survey, starting January, a commentary entitled the Snow Survey Bulletin (Snowpack and Water Supply Outlook) is published. This includes graphs of regional indices of snow and precipitation and hydrographs of representative hydrometric stations. These are updated eight times per year. See the archives for Snow Bulletins for the 1997 to 2004 seasons.

A bi-monthly snow pillow commentary on snow conditions based on readings from the Automatic Snow Pillows (ASPs) is published from October 1 through June.

Data

Remotely sensed snow and meteorologic data from Automatic Snow Pillows (ASPs), transmitted via satellite, are collected at over 50 sites around the province. Data are transmitted several times daily with this near real-time data updated on a daily basis. Stations are actively monitored from the beginning of October until all the snow has melted, usually in July. Graphs of ASP snow water equivalents are updated weekly during this time.

Manually sampled snow survey data are collected from almost 200 sites around the province. Measurements are made at the beginning of the month from January through April and twice monthly in May and June, although not all stations are measured at every sampling period. Previous Snow Bulletins can be found in the archives.

Monthly readings at selected Ground Water Observation Wells.

Data from previous years are available in the archives.