Flood watch, evacuation alerts in B.C.; province braces for rain, snowmelt

Heavy rainfall combined with warm weather could lead to flooding in parts of B.C. this weekend. As a result, some communities are under evacuation alert.

The delayed spring thaw due to the cooler weather we’ve seen up until now means the snowpack is still quite built up, more so than it normally is at this time of year.

“We’ve seen rivers coming up from that,” said Dave Campbell with the BC River Forecast Centre.

He notes one the areas of most concern is the Bulkley River in the northwestern part of B.C., “and then tracing down through the east Okanagan/Boundary region.”

“At the moment, there’s a fair bit of rainfall in the forecast there,” he added.

Parts of Smithers are under evacuation alert. More alerts have been posted in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine in Northern B.C., for properties along the Skeena River north of Terrace.

“We’re definitely seeing the cool weather play a role, in terms of the seasonal aspects of the streamflow. We’re very late, in terms of river runoff and the snow melt side of things. Probably three to four weeks,” Campbell said.

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As for the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland in general, Campbell says there is no short-term risk of flooding, though that could change in the coming weeks.

High streamflow advisories also cover much of northern and north-central B.C., and extend from the Cariboo south to the U.S. border.

In November, heavy rain led to catastrophic flooding in parts of B.C., including Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Hope, Merritt, and Princeton. The floods led to several landslides and at one point, all routes connecting the Lower Mainland with the rest of B.C. were blocked.

Meanwhile, with a cooler and wetter than usual June expected this year, the BC Wildfire Service’s expected hazard levels are still low for the early summer season.

However, the service’s seasonal outlook does show there are some area of the province that are experiencing drier-than-normal conditions. The province says those regions will be monitored closely.

With files from The Canadian Press and Hana Mae Nassar