Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED SATURDAY

Wet weekend could spell rising water in Kamloops

May 29, 2020 | 4:36 PM

KAMLOOPS — As we head into the last weekend of May, the weather could help accelerate some of the high water we’ve been expecting in the region. On Thursday, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement, warning residents in Southern B.C. of the possibility of thunderstorms and significant precipitation that could add more water to rivers already under a high streamflow warning.

Friday’s (May 29) weather at Riverside Park was perfect for enjoying a seat on a park bench. However, Environment Canada doesn’t expect the sunshine and blue skies to last.

“There’s that risk of thunderstorms Saturday, into the evening,” Bobby Sekhon, Meteorologist for Environment Canada says. “Remember, when thunder roars, go indoors. And with those thunderstorms could be not only heavy downpour and lightning but also strong wind gusts.”

According to Sehkon, a stormy Saturday could segue into a rainy Sunday, as there’s a significant amount of precipitation expected throughout the Thompson valleys.

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“By the end of day Sunday, we could see 15-to-25 millimetres of precipitation in the South Thompson area,” Sekhon says. “Possibly higher if you get under one of those heavy downpours from the thunderstorms.”

The combination of all that rain and the warm weather we’ve been seeing could spell trouble for river levels throughout the region. That has the B.C. River Forecast Centre keeping a close eye on streams in the area.

“That snowmelt is starting to push things up, and then we come into Saturday afternoon, evening, overnight,” Dave Campbell with the BC River Forecast Centre explains. “The potential’s there for some thundershowers and some organized rain into Sunday. Certainly [that’s] the combination that we warn about, so there’s some potential for some adverse flows, for some high flows.”

The concern is the North and South Thompson Rivers both reach their peak level at the same time. That’s when we tend to see flood events like 1972 and 1999.

“At the confluence of the two through Kamloops, we could expect to see some pretty high flows,” Campbell says. “We did issue a High Streamflow Advisory in recognition of that transition we’re expecting in the next few days. At this point, [we’re] not anticipating flood stage, but there are the potentials there.”

That rain could also create problems west of the city. There’s the potential for flooding in Cache Creek, as the Bonaparte River remains under a flood watch. Sekhon also warned that heavy rains could create the risk of landslides in that area.

“Because we have some burn-scar areas in the Cache Creek area, with the possibility of heavy downpours, there is the possibility of landslides as well,” Sekhon suggests. “All in all, it looks like we’ll have some pretty significant weather this weekend, so we’ll have to be vigilant.”