Warming weather, above-normal snowpack prompts flood-readiness reminder for Okanagan – Okanagan | 24CA News
Central Okanagan residents are being suggested to prepare for spring run-off, as temperatures are anticipated to leap considerably this coming weekend.
“Be prepared,” stated Sandra Follack, deputy hearth chief and emergency program coordinator in Kelowna. “It’s a good thing to keep an eye on the weather.”
The recommendation is particularly essential for individuals residing in low-lying areas or by waterways.
“If they’re in an area where they normally would flood in a normal year, we do have sandbags that they can ask for at Kelowna fire halls or yards,” Follack instructed Global News.
The weekend is anticipated to see temperatures that might rise 10 levels above regular, with Kelowna anticipating a excessive of 27 C on Saturday.
“We haven’t really had any snowmelts of significance, especially at the higher elevations, until likely this upcoming weekend, when we get some warm temperatures,” stated Jonathan Boyd, a hydrologist with the River Forecast Centre.
“The snowpack melting, it will get the flows rising — essentially for the first time this season, because, again, it hasn’t melted at this point in time.”
The final bulletin on the snowpack was issued by the River Forecast Centre was April 1, and revealed the Okanagan was increased than most components of B.C.
“Throughout the province, the snowpack was a little bit below normal for April 1, but the Okanagan was actually above normal at 113 per cent,” Boyd stated.
Boyd stated the above-normal snowpack interprets into the next potential danger for snowmelt-related flooding.
He added that the large unknown is the potential for rain, which might enhance the prospect of flooding.
“The question mark comes down to the middle of next week. There are some weather models that are showing potential for some heavy rain, and others that are showing moderate in temperature and staying fairly dry,” Boyd stated.
“So the bigger risk, I think, is what then might happen after this heat on the weekend.”
But the warm-up is anticipated to be short-lived, which might mitigate any localized flooding, at the very least for now.
“So that actually may be a benefit in the sense that you just have a short burst of heat and it might melt some of the snow and get it melting, but going back to potentially cooler temperatures can slow that down,” Boyd stated.
According to the Regional District of the Central Okanagan, the mid-to-upper-elevation snowmelt will begin rushing up between now and late June.
That means water ranges will probably be rising for weeks to return.
“I think there will be maybe two months of concern for the Okanagan, with this combination of slightly above normal snowpack and then just the potential for rain on top of the melting snow,” Boyd stated.
For extra info on flood preparedness, go to the Central Okanagan Emergency Program web site.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
