A flood watch has been put in place for the South Thompson River, while it a high streamflow advisory is being maintained for the North Thompson River and its tributaries, as well as the Thompson River in Kamloops, downstream to Spences Bridge.
The BC River Forecast Centre says the South Thompson is flowing at a 10-year rate at Chase, while the Thompson River near Spences Bridge is flowing between a 5-year and 10-year rate.
It also says the Clearwater River near Clearwater Station appears to have peaked early on yesterday, and is flowing at a 10-year rate.
“Moderate rainfall impacted the region on Tuesday and Wednesday, with 5-30 mm of precipitation observed through the North Thompson River watershed, and 3-10 mm over areas in the South Thompson,” said the River Forecast Centre.
“River levels in tributaries of the North Thompson River rose rapidly in response to this rainfall and to on-going high elevation snowmelt, including areas around Blue River and Clearwater.”
The flood watch comes as the Thompson River in Kamloops is at the highest levels it has been this year. As of 10:45 a.m. this morning, the water level on the Thompson River near the Overlanders Bridge was 7.758 metres.
“The Thompson River at Spences Bridge is expected to continue to increase over the next few days and forecast to reach a 10-year flow early next week. ,” noted the River Forecast Centre. “Additional precipitation over the next few days could increase flows slightly higher than the current forecast.”
As always, they’re asking people to stay clear of the fast-flowing rivers and potentially unstable riverbanks during the high-streamflow period.
For the latest conditions from the River Forecast Centre, go here.
The River Forecast Centre has UPGRADED to a Flood Watch for the South Thompson River. More details at: https://t.co/M2WQr5YE7G #BCFlood #Kamloops #ChaseBC
— Emergency Info BC (@EmergencyInfoBC) June 26, 2020