Flood watch for Peace region downgraded

The flood watch issued for the Peace region on Friday morning was downgraded to a high streamflow advisory on Saturday afternoon. 

The high streamflow advisory signals high flows in rivers and tributaries in the Fort St. John, Chetwynd, Moberly Lake, Pine Pass, Hudson’s Hope, and Dawson Creek areas but little imminent risk of major flooding. 

Though the flood risk has been downgraded, the B.C. River Forecast Centre warns that isolated thunderstorms and the locally-significant amounts of rain they bring can have large and difficult to forecast impacts.

The centre asks individuals to keep an eye on weather forecasts to understand region specific risks.

A low-pressure system has brought significant rainfall to the region over the past few days. 

“Precipitation amounts around 10-50 mm have been observed through the region since Thursday, June 16th,” the River Forecast Centre said in an advisory.

“Rivers have responded to this precipitation throughout the region, rising to their 2-5 year return period thresholds.”

Further increases in river levels are possible on larger river systems (like the Moberly River), where the rain-driven high flow will take more time to move downstream, according to the centre. 

Liard River, including tributaries around Fort Nelson and Highway 97 towards Watson Lake, was downgraded from a flood warning to a flood watch on Sunday.