Flood watch issued for B.C.'s South Coast
Credit to Author: Tiffany Crawford| Date: Sat, 01 Feb 2020 17:08:13 +0000
B.C.’s River Forecast Centre has issued a flood watch for some parts of the province’s South Coast.
As of Saturday morning, the North Shore and Metro Vancouver remained under the alert, posted Friday afternoon. Areas of concern include the Coquitlam River, Alouette River, Kanaka Creek, and MacKay Creek. The western and southern parts of Vancouver Island are also on alert for flooding.
Heavy rain pounded the South Coast on Friday, and overnight, with the heaviest rainfall measured on the west coast of Vancouver Island and along the North Shore Mountains. Rainfall amounts were expected to exceed 200 mm in some areas.
A rainfall warning that was in effect, but was lifted by Saturday morning, and a much drier day is expected. Environment and Climate Change Canada is forecasting a mainly cloudy day, with a chance of showers clearing up near noon, and some sunny breaks.
The River Forecast Centre said that while some snowmelt is expected during this weather event, snowpack at higher elevations should absorb the water.
Another cold front is moving across the region this weekend, and freezing levels are expected to rise, according to Matt MacDonald, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
January has been a particularly rainy month for Metro Vancouver, but not likely to be the wettest on record. As of Friday, there had been 222 mm of rain at YVR. That is high compared with the average rainfall for the month of 168 mm. The record for January was set in 1935 at 336 mm, according to MacDonald.
More to come…