Image Credit: CFJC Today / James Peters

By James Peters

B.C. Flood

Area waterways holding steady in wake of weekend rain

Jun 1, 2020 | 11:36 AM

KAMLOOPS — Rivers in the Kamloops area appear to be holding steady in spite of a major rain event over the weekend.

Meteorologist Carmen Hartt from Environment Canada says the spring storm hit a large portion of the Southern Interior.

“We saw that rain start off Saturday morning and there was embedded thundershowers the whole time. That lasted from Saturday morning all through the night and it sort of tapered off through the day on Sunday.”

Hartt says the weather station at Kamloops Airport measured 12 millimetres of rain over the weekend, but some areas saw quite a bit more.

“In total, we saw up to 50 millimetres of rain in some locations – with some amounts coming down really heavy – and a lot of lightning as well.”

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Hartt notes this type of storm is common at this time of year.

“Once we get into the warmer weather, and this time we also had a bit of a humid airmass as well, it’s pretty typical. We’re into our summer season when convection is really the main story for those thunderstorms we do start to see quite often from about mid-May onwards into the summer.”

The B.C. River Forecast (RFC) has maintained high streamflow advisories for the North and South Thompson Rivers Monday morning (June 1).

Data from the City of Kamloops Thompson River chart shows a slight dip in river levels before the rain event on the weekend.

The RFC has maintained a flood watch for the Bonaparte River at Cache Creek, but village spokeswoman Wendy Coomber notes the village did not get as much rain as was predicted and the river is not expected to spill over its banks.

In an email to CFJC Today, Coomber notes the river is expected to remain “high and fast” until mid-week. A local state of emergency remains in place in Cache Creek, along with an evacuation alert for properties near the river.

The RFC has downgraded flood watches to high streamflow advisories for several areas, including the Nicola River downstream of Nicola Lake through Spences Bridge. A high streamflow advisory for the Nicola upstream of Nicola Lake has been lifted.