Flood On Fraser Depends On Weather

By 250 News

Prince George-    The Ministry of Environment says when the warm weather comes is the factor that will determine whether flooding occurs this year.

Cold spring weather and the resulting delay in snowmelt could also

Result in above normal water levels on rivers in the major Interior

basins in late May and June (Upper Fraser, North Thompson, South

Thompson, Shuswap Lake, Skeena, Bulkley, Nass, Kootenay, Columbia and

others). If spring weather conditions are near normal (i.e., not

unusually wet or unusually hot) there is low likelihood of flooding on

major rivers. The forecast for the Fraser River at Hope is a peak

discharge in June that could meet last year's peak discharge of 11,000

cubic metres per second

While the Ministry of the Environment is not calling for a flood along the Fraser system, they are suggesting that the snow pack remains high as a result of the slow melt At the peak of snow accumulation in mid-April, much of British Columbia had near normal snowpack’s, with a few areas above normal, such as the Peace and the south, central and north coasts.

However, as a result of one of the coldest Aprils in the last 50 years,

spring snowmelt has been delayed, and additional snow has accumulated.

As of May 1, basin snow water indicators range from a low of 99 per

cent of normal in the mid Fraser, to near 120 per cent of normal on

Vancouver Island and along coastal drainages. The Upper Fraser River

basin and the Peace River are both at 116 per cent of normal, and the

North Thompson is at 114 per cent. Most other basins, including the

Nechako, Mid Fraser, South Thompson, Columbia, Kootenay, Okanagan, and

Similkameen, are near normal.

The Fraser River snow index, which includes all of the river's major

water-producing areas, from its headwaters down to Mission, is 107 per

cent of normal, up from 102 per cent on April 1.

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