Alberta's Snowpack: Record Highs vs. Record Lows

0:00It's March 30th. This is Toronto News today, AI-powered stories from your city. Alberta's Rocky Mountains are showing a wild split in snowpact this year. Up in the Bow River Basin, things are looking stellar, with all-time highs, at Lake Louise and mostly above average levels elsewhere. Scientists John Pomeroy calls it remarkable, more than double the usual water equivalent in spots from conanascas to Jasper. No depths are impressive, too, hitting 2.6 meters above Helen Lake in Banff and 2.3 meters near Fortress Mountain. Higher elevations are holding strong after soaking up winter rain and snow, while made in lower spots sit closer to normal due to some melting. This sets up for exceptionally high snow melt in the Bow River area, one of the biggest in decades. It should boost summer river flows, easing low water woes in Calgary and downstream irrigation. These are relieved, but Pomeroy warns to watch for fast melts mixed with rain that could amp up flood risks. Meanwhile, south of Calgary in the Oldman River Basin, it's a total opposite story.

1:04Survey show record lows, like at Akamina Pass, with just 162 millimeters of water, equivalent versus 260 last year. Pomeroy says, prepare for potential severe drought there. That southern dryness ties into the brutal U.S. drought-creeping north, fueled by human cause climate change. Spring rains would decide the final call, but for now, northern water riches contrast sharp with southern worries, as melt season ramps up.