Prince George, B.C. – The River Forecast Centre says  while many rivers in B.C. are flowing  above normal levels for early April, most areas  are heading into the Spring Freshet  facing a normal  level of risk of  flooding.

The snowpack in the Nechako basin  was reported at 106% of normal  as of April 1st,  while the Upper Fraser East was  71%   and the  Upper Fraser West  was  at 75% of  norm.  So while the  area may be spared  from  flooding,  the Centre indicates the low snowpack levels in the Upper Fraser basin have increased  the risk  for  low steamflows this  summer.

According to the Centre,   the Okanagan and Nicola  basins are   expected to have  higher than normal seasonal runoff  while  high snowpack in the Lower Fraser ( greater than 120%)  have increased the likelihood of higher than normal freshet flows in the Lillooet River and  tributaries…

There are still  a few weeks left in the snow accumulation season  so changes are possible, although the Centre says ”  at this stage would require extremely wet or cool conditions to make a significant impact on seasonal flood risk by either accumulating more snow, or delaying the melt season.”