Okanagan drought conditions remain at Level 1 for fourth week

The Okanagan’s drought conditions are unchanged for the fourth consecutive week.

As of Thursday, June 20, the local area was still classified as Drought Level 1, meaning adverse affects to socioeconomic and ecosystem values due to conditions would be rare.

The continuation of the Level 1 ratings comes after Vernon received 8.7 millimetres of precipitation, Kelowna recorded 15.8 mm, and Penticton had 16 mm of precipitation over the reporting week.

The province uses a six-level classification (0-5) to rate the severity of drought conditions using core indicators like stream flow and precipitation.

The North Thompson was also at Level 1 for the fourth straight week, while all other nearby areas were at Level 2, meaning it would be unlikely to see conditions result in adverse impacts to the area values.

As of June 20, the West Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii, Northwest and Stikine regions were at the lowest drought rating of Level 0.

The only region with the highest drought rating of Level 5 was the East Peace, which has been in place since reporting began on May 2. The areas surrounding the East Peace remained at Level 4 in the latest report.

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