Image Credit: Adam Donnelly / CFJC Today

By Dylana Kneeshaw

KAMLOOPS FRESHET UPDATE

North Thompson River expected to peak next week; South Thompson levels remain steady

Jun 16, 2022 | 10:57 AM

KAMLOOPS — The City of Kamloops says the North and South Thompson River levels are looking promising this week. And if the snowmelt and weather conditions hold off from any extreme activity, the flood danger could diminish considerably.

In an update Thursday morning (June 16), Utility Services Manager Greg Wightman says the North Thompson level has been dropping since Monday. And the South Thompson River has been steady, with no major drops or increases.

The City’s gauge at the confluence of both rivers near the Overlanders Bridge has also stayed within 10 cm of the same level over the past week.

“Again, very, very steady projections here. We’re not seeing anything overly concerning in the next ten days,” says Wightman. “A lot of that has to do with the fact that the North Thompson (River) is going to be getting awfully close to peaking here probably by about the middle of next week — at least peaking from the snow melt.”

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So far, Wightman says the rivers haven’t reached levels where certain actions would be taken, such as putting out more catch basin bags or sand baskets. At this point, the City is focused on monitoring, and extra protection is ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.

“It looks like with this weather forecast for the next seven days, we’re likely going to avoid any major events caused predominantly by snowmelt,” he explains. “But we’re going to have both the North and South Thompson Rivers running extremely high for up to as much as three weeks here. And any little bit of rain contribution to that — a significant rainfall event, thunderstorms, anything like that is going to be concerning.”

Another snow index report is expected to be released on Friday (June 17), which will indicate how much snow is left in the hills to melt.