Photo: DriveBC
Highway 5 at the Great Bear Snowshed, looking north.
UPDATE 2:10 p.m.
As the rain pummeled the Fraser Valley on Wednesday, poultry farmer Corry Spitters and his family started to calculate their possible losses with the vivid memory of the devastation from flooding from four years ago.
An atmospheric river is washing over southern B.C. with a warning of up to 110 centimetres of rain in the forecast before it pushes out, and the B.C. River Forecast Centre is warning that there’s possible spillover from the Nooksack River in Washington state. The same scenario as November 2021 when flooding and overflowing rivers caused billions in damage.
“We’re just going through what our liabilities are if things get any worse,” said Spitters, whose Oranya Farm lost 200,000 chickens during the catastrophic flooding in 2021.
“One of our neighbours right now has got a full crew out there harvesting Brussels sprouts, because they’ve got to salvage what they can because it’s probably going to be underwater by tomorrow.”
The comments reflect the unease in the Fraser Valley community as B.C.’s River Forecast Centre issued a flood warning Wednesday for the Lower Fraser and Skagit basin in the province’s southwest, including the entirety of the Fraser Valley and most of Metro Vancouver.
“Rivers are expected to rise through Wednesday in response to heavy rain and snowmelt, with peak levels forecasted later Wednesday, and into Thursday for larger river systems,” the centre’s flood warning said.
“Heavier rainfall south of the border may lead to flooding along the Nooksack River, with a potential for spilling into the Sumas River,” it continued. “The highest river levels are currently expected around the Fraser Valley, including the Chilliwack River and surrounding areas.”
The City of Abbotsford said in a statement that it has established an emergency operations centre in response to the flood warning, adding that a number of roads along the U.S. border will likely be flooded if the Nooksack River overflows.
It said the water has historically taken around seven hours to reach the city, and the municipality was closely monitoring all key locations and dikes, with staff posted full time at the Barrowtown pumpstation in anticipation of possible flooding.
“We are preparing to close roads at low spots later today,” the city’s statement said on Wednesday.
The warning from the city said that while the current forecast is for water levels below the 2021 flood, similar levels of water are being considered as a “possible scenario” if rainfall amounts are at the higher end of the current forecast.
Environment Canada said the heaviest rainfall is forecast for the eastern Fraser Valley, from Chilliwack east along the Highway 3 corridor to Princeton.
Metro Vancouver, excluding Richmond and Delta, was also under a warning Wednesday with rainfall likely to reach as much as 70 millimetres.
Spitters said he is expecting “moderate flooding” at his farm, which means water could reach everything below the crest of the road, but not the catastrophic flooding that happened of 2021.
He said there’s little property owners can do in the face of possible flooding, and he is concerned that the same dike and infrastructure that failed in 2021 could fail again if a similar amount of water comes into the system.
“We’re just sitting here wondering what’s next,” Spitters said.
“I’m watching the Sumas River right now. It is still well within its banks … Yeah, it’s definitely a concern, no question about it.”
The B.C. government has issued a notice urging people living near rivers and streams in Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Hope to prepare emergency kits, move assets to higher ground and closely monitor the situation.
The flood warnings are an upgrade to a previous flood watch in the area, after much of B.C.’s south coast and parts of the southern Interior were put under rain warnings.
The warnings on Wednesday also covered western Vancouver Island, Howe Sound, parts of the Sunshine Coast, the Sea to Sky Highway, the Coquihalla Highway, Fraser Canyon, the Kootenays and Elk Valley near the Alberta boundary.
Travel was expected to be hampered on Highway 1 from Sicamous to Golden, as well as in Yoho and Kootenay national parks, as the same weather system is bringing up to 40 centimetres of snow to those areas.
The Canadian Press
ORIGINAL 8:15 a.m.
Rain continues to soak much of B.C., and heavier volumes in some areas are prompting warnings from the national weather agency.
More than a dozen Environment Canada advisories have been issued, most of them focused on the rain hitting the Lower Mainland. Some Southern Interior regions, however, will also feel the effects of the atmospheric river positioned over the South Coast and that’s something travellers may want to keep in mind.
The Coquihalla, from Hope to Merritt, will see snowfall turn to heavy rain today, with 60 to 80 millimetres expected by early Thursday morning.
“An atmospheric river will arrive on the South Coast of B.C., bringing snow to the Coquihalla Summit,” Environment Canada said.
“Warm air associated with the system will cause the snow to change to rain early this morning. Heavy rain will then persist through tonight before tapering off early Thursday morning. The highest rainfall amounts, up to 80 mm, are expected near Hope.”
Snow levels will lower to near the Coquihalla summit tonight, and rain may change back to snow in that area, with up to 10 centimetres of accumulation possible.
On Highway 3, from Hope to Princeton via Allison Pass, rainfall amounts of 80 to 110 millimetres are expected, and Environment Canada said, labelling this warning orange, “localized flooding is likely.”
Travel is expected to be hampered on Highway 1 from Sicamous to Golden, as well as in Yoho and Kootenay national parks, as the same weather system is bringing up to 40 centimetres of snow to the area.
In the Kootenays, heavy rain is also expected to continue into the evening.
Environment Canada says 40 to 60 millimetres of rain is forecast for Arrow Lakes to Slocan Lake, northern Kootenay Lake including Kaslo, and the southern Elk Valley including Fernie.
On Tuesday, Ken Dosanjh, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the weather system that has caused issues south of the border will make the Okanagan warmer and soggier in the days ahead. A ridge of high pressure over the Yukon and another off the coast of California are steering rain toward the coastal areas.
Photo: BC River Forecast Centre
Orange indicates the area of “flood watch,” red indicates “flood warning.” Yellow is a high streamflow advisory.
