Environment Canada's Weekend Outlook for BC's Southern Mainland

 

Here it is, straight from Environment Canada's presses:

Another front will approach the south coast on Saturday. Rain will begin for most areas Saturday morning but the heaviest rain will be Saturday night as the front nears. Rainfall amounts from Saturday to Sunday evening. will vary from about 50 mm from Richmond to 80 mm in Abbotsford to 100 mm closer to the mountains. Squamish may see up to 120 mm. Gibsons will also receive 50 to 80 mm of rain.

Strong warming will accompany this system causing snow levels to rise well above the mountain tops Saturday afternoon. Snowmelt will contribute to run off, increasing the risk of flooding and possibly impacting vulnerable landscapes and infrastructure.

There you have it. For a region, parts of it already heavily flooded, other spots washed out, it sounds a tad ominous, especially the part about "100 mm closer to the mountains." The problem is that water runs downhill. Places such as Abbotsford might get 80 mm of rain directly but they also get rainfall runoff from neighbouring mountains plus the snowmelt. 

That's a bit like getting hit in the face with a baseball bat - three times. And once the weekend deluge is over they'll get a light rain reprieve on Monday followed by another atmospheric river downpour on Tuesday, perhaps another two to three inches of direct rainfall plus whatever comes out of the mountains.

I wonder what that area will look like this time next week?


Comments

  1. the salamanderNovember 26, 2021 at 10:05 PM

    .. I usually catch the most recent updates via Twitter plus truly useful or critical web links that expand the picture. For someone with my unorthodox or lateral knack for ‘connecting the dots’ or noticing things ‘that may connect later’ as the picture resolves or changes its a real boon

    An example relating to your post. I read a journalist’s extensive Twitter thread of how tiresome & impossible he found prying information re flood awareness & protection out of BC bureaucrats. He was just doing due diligence well prior to the recent flooding, specifically relative to Nooksack River watershed & runoff, Mt Baker area.. and Soumas Prairie.

    He finally followed a tip, admitted defeat and reverted to Washington State for useful background, where he got prompt responses & service. I found the same phenomena re wild salmon migration when I was self educating myself on ‘all things salmon & orca’.. ie best & worst practices at Fisheries levels

    Snow melt & crazy rain dumps & runoff have to go somewhere.. and always downhill oddly.. just as you point out. Headwaters, Runoff & Rivers ignore International boundaries, as do floods & diking. Also, the USA has the Army Engineer Corp, Does Canada have anything similar ?? (you know.. ask Our Ministry of ‘Defense’.. hmm) Is a flood like the one at Soumas Prairie a ‘Transient Navigable Water ? Ask Stephen Harper or Justin Trudeau !

    I don’t have to tell you how disastrous flooding is to a single homeowner or renter or citizen. Nor the horrendous environmental, social & economic consequences that follow flooding on massive scales

    FYI off topic - Boss & I doing repeat sampling of Vancouver Island’s Lois Lake farmed Steelhead as well as enjoying our typical & seasonal, Canadian wild catch culinary adventures

    ReplyDelete
  2. the salamanderNovember 27, 2021 at 11:09 AM

    .. triple repeat ? What’s causing that ?

    ReplyDelete

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