This has been an exceptionally dry summer, and we haven’t yet seen statistics for how it compares with previous years.
However, after following lake level management targets until mid-May, the Okanagan Lake has fallen to low levels –this is due to the requirement for the province to maintain flows in the Okanagan River, with not enough inflows to replace the outflows.
Osoyoos Lake management rules did not meet the drought criteria in the springtime, so has been operated under “normal” conditions (under drought conditions more water is held in the lake).
The prediction is that we will likely be in a neutral El Nino/La Nina (ENSO) condition in the Pacific Ocean over the next number of months.
While El Nino conditions tend to be drier than normal, and La Nina conditions tend to be wetter than normal, neutral conditions can go either way.
