Abbotsford records highest level of rainfall in one month
Posted December 1, 2021 4:31 pm.
Last Updated December 2, 2021 5:19 am.
Rainfall records have been washed away in Abbotsford, following a procession of storms over the past three weeks.
Mayor Henry Braun says the community was hit with a record 540 millimetres of rain during November. He says this is about a third of its typical annual rainfall, and it all came down in one month.
“We did experience localized flooding from the most recent rain event and continued to have several road closures in place and several localized evacuation orders being issued over the last 24 hours,” he said Wednesday.
Braun hopes the city can lift evacuation orders in a number of areas as conditions improve.
But he warns as rainfall and snowmelt come down from the mountains of Baker, Vetter and Sumass, water levels could rise unexpectedly in some areas.
Due to the impact of rising tides on the Fraser River Wednesday morning, Braun says the city had to close the Barrowtown floodgates.
“This means that the level of the Sumas River will begin to rise, but don’t panic. That’s how they’re designed,” Braun said. “However, we do not anticipate that this will cause any issues. We expect to be able to reopen the floodgates later today when the tide drops.”
Mayor Braun: Due to impact of rising tides on the Fraser River, we had to close Barrowtown floodgates. This means the level of the Sumas River will begin to rise, but don't panic…we don't anticipate that this will cause any issues…floodgates anticipated to open later today
— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) December 1, 2021
The mayor also says regional water modelling projections for Wednesday and the upcoming days continue to indicate a stabilization of overall water levels.
In the past day water levels in Sumas Prairie lake bottom dropped by one inch, Braun adds.
Related Article: B.C. breaking temperature records, causing snowmelt, adding to flooding
Whatcom County has confirmed the Nooksack River has crested and is not expected to overflow its banks, “although the situation still remains variable and we are continuing to monitor this situation very closely.”
The City is patrolling overnight along the Sumas dike and in Huntington to monitor any change in conditions there.
