FLOOD WATCH

Flood watch for upper Fraser River includes McBride

Jun 27, 2021 | 1:55 PM

McBRIDE — The River Forecast Centre is upgrading to a flood watch for the upper Fraser River.

Communities affected include McBride, Dome Creek, the Robson Valley, areas from Sinclair Mills upstream to Torpy, and surrounding tributaries.

Hot temperatures over the past several days have triggered significant amount of snowmelt at the higher elevations of the Upper Fraser River. Automated snow weather stations located in this basin recorded maximum temperatures of 24 to 32 degrees Celsius at the higher elevations on Saturday (June 26). The stations with remaining snow melted between 55 and 85‐mm snow water equivalent yesterday.

Environment and Climate Change Canada forecasts the hottest days to occur beginning June 27 through Tuesday (June 29) in the Upper Fraser region, and may even last into Wednesday. The current forecast at McBride has the following maximum temperatures:

  • Sunday – 36 Celsius
  • Monday – 39 Celsius
  • Tuesday – 40 Celsius
  • Wednesday – 38 Celsius

These high temperatures will increase the snowmelt which will cause river levels to continue to rise in the coming days.

As of publication, the Fraser River at McBride is flowing at 1080 m3/s (between 5‐year and 10‐year return period) and is forecasted to continue rising.

The public is advised to stay clear of the fast‐flowing rivers and potentially unstable riverbanks during the high‐streamflow period.