By Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
The man in charge of B.C.’s River Forecast Centre is “cautiously optimistic” that flooding may soon level off.
On Thursday during a media conference call, David Campbell from the River Forecast Centre and Shaun Reimer, who oversees water levels in Okanagan Lake, gave an update on the flooding outlook.
Campbell said last week’s exceptionally warm weather kick-started the flooding season by rapidly melting snow at mid-elevations (1,000 to 1,500 metres).
He noted that one-third to one-half of the snow has melted at mid-elevation. But he pointed out that the snow at higher elevations has just started to melt.
Campbell said temperatures have cooled off over the last few days, which has resulted in water flows easing up. He wouldn’t say the flood situation has stabilized but noted he is “cautiously optimistic” that it has leveled off or will soon taper off. But again, he casts a wary eye to the higher elevation snow pack that has yet to melt.
Campbell said the forecast calls for less extreme warm temperatures, however, there’s a potential for a longer period of warmer weather.
“We may see rain next week, so we could see increased pressure on our rivers.”
Reimer agreed there is a lot of snow left to melt in the mountains, so there could be some aggressive outflows as a result.
“We hope to see a gradual melt,” he said.
