Sudbury snow levels not record-breaking, conservation authority says

The snowfall so far this winter in Greater Sudbury has been crazy, but not record-breaking.

Despite those tall snow banks and all the snow residents have cleared from their driveways, Conservation Sudbury says the total snowfall accumulation has not surpassed the 22 year old record.

Over the winter months, the local conservation authority measures snow levels and the water content in that snow.

General manager Carl Jorgensen, says they measure twice a month at three locations in the city: Garson, Chelmsford and Capreol.

They've been using these sites for 36 years to measure snow using a snow sampler or core, which still measures in Imperial units (inches).

As of Feb. 15, Jorgensen says Greater Sudbury has seen an average of 83 centimetres (33 inches) of snow this winter. But he adds that it's the 15 centimetres (6.2 inches) of water content in that snow that could cause problems this spring.

Water content is what Conservation Sudbury is most concerned about since snow melts down into water, and that water could move, which could lead to flooding in the spring.

"We're not sounding any alarms," Jorgensen said.

"We've got lots of snow, we've got higher water content than the long term average, that's for sure. Again, it's not how [the snow] showed up, it's how it goes away."

This past weekend's snowfall hasn't been taken into account yet. The next measurement crews will take will be on March 1.

The highest snow level ever recorded by the conservation authority was from mid March 1997, when the snow pack measured 111 centimetres (44 inches). However Jorgensen says there wasn't major flooding that year despite the snowfall amount.

Jorgensen says the conservation authority likes a long melting period because it means less flooding in area waterways.

He says it's hard to predict what the spring runoff will be like because there are many factors to consider. The weather forecast, the snow and water content still remaining, frost in the ground, rainfall, warm temperatures and river levels could all be a factor.

"If I want to get a message across, it's not how much snow we've got, it's how much water is represented by that snow and it's not how much snow we get, it's how it goes away."