It was one of the driest springs on record for much of the Thompson and Okanagan valleys, according to data from Environment Canada.

During the months of March, April, and May, Kamloops recorded just 69 per cent of normal precipitation – with 37.3 mm of precipitation instead of the usual 54.2 mm.

Meteorologist Armel Castellan says places like Comox, Kelowna, Prince George, and Watson Lake all broke records for the driest spring.

“With really only June to go, there’s a lot of pressure to get some of the precipitation that is very much needed,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s a very small drop in a quite an empty bucket at this point, in order to really catch up to how dry its been over the last year in many locations.”

Castellan says Williams Lake was the only place in BC that reached 100 per cent of normal precipitation this spring, of the places where ranked seasonal and monthly statistics are recorded.

“There are locations particularly in the North Interior and the northwest of BC that have had a lot of catching up to do, not just in the last season, but even dating back to last summer’s really dry spell,” he added.

“Certainly, the antecedent conditions of dryness are very difficult to overcome.”

As for what that means?

“This has implications on drought of course across the province and certainly the wildfire concerns which have already started,” Castellan said.” The probabilities of seeing a warmer than normal spring across the province are actually quite high, as high as 90 per cent probability and only as low as 60 to 70 per cent in the extreme south east.”

He added it was also warmer than normal in numerous communities, with Kelowna experiencing the second warmest May on record, Vernon third warmest, and Kamloops the seventh warmest.

(Photo for representation only)