Will Declining Ottawa Precipitation Spell the End of XC and Snowshoeing?

January 28, 2012 in gatineau park, ski, snowboarding, snowshoeing, xc skiing by Dave

Charles Hodgson has posted a couple of scary graphs on GuideGatineau that are sure to make winter lovers take pause. The City of Ottawa has recently published a report on Ottawa waterheds within municipal boundaries, and a clear trend towards less and less winter precipitation (i.e. the white stuff) seems pretty obvious:

As you can see, precipitation in the winter has fallen from around 220mm to under 175mm over the past 100 years, or, assuming a 10:1 precipitation:snow ratio, about 2.2 metres to 1.75 metres. This, despite overall precipitation and that in other seasons has risen. What could this mean for skiers, snowshoers, and other snow-hounds?

A 2005 report by the NCC actually predicted that by 2050 there might not be enough snow to offer XC and snowshoe trails in Gatineau Park!

Scary stuff indeed. Read Charles’ full post over at GuideGatineau.