While soaring temperatures have led to a high-to-extreme fire risk for most of B.C., the flood risk has also risen in many areas because of rapid alpine snow melt, including the North Thompson.

A high streamflow advisory has been issued for the North Thompson River, Clearwater River, Blue River and other high-elevation creeks in the North Thompson valley.

The BC River Forecast Centre says significant snowmelt has been triggered by this historic heat wave, where most areas of the province have set all-time heat records for consecutive days.

“These extremely high temperatures will increase the snowmelt and glacier melt which will cause river levels to rise in the coming days,” an update says from the River Forecast Centre.

Blue River is expected to reach a high of 39 degrees Celsius today and 37 C tomorrow, and the five-day forecast between Thursday and Monday shows temperatures will drop slightly but still remain five-to-10 degrees Celsius warmer that normal.

Currently, the province also has a high streamflow advisory in place for a number of large rivers in the central and northern coast.

Flood watch warnings are also in place for rivers that draw water from parts of the Rocky Mountains, including the Columbia River and Upper Fraser River, and for rivers that draw from part of the Coastal Mountains including Lillooet River and Harrison River.