B.C.'s South Coast bracing for atmospheric river with up to 100 mm of rain possible
CTV
Environment Canada has issued another weather warning for the South Coast of British Columbia.
Environment Canada has issued another weather warning for the South Coast of British Columbia.
An atmospheric river event is expected to melt weeks' worth of snow at a rapid rate which could trigger localized flooding.
“Heavy rain will develop early this afternoon as the first system arrives and continue until Wednesday afternoon as additional systems impact the coast,” a warning posted by Environment Canada Tuesday morning said.
Most parts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are expected to see 75 to 100 millimetres of rain.
“The heaviest hit areas of Metro Vancouver are going to be the North Shore mountains. That's where you could see easily 150 millimetres or even more of rain,” said Bobby Sekhon, of Environment Canada.
Sekhon says that amount of rain is significant when combined with melting snow and ice already on the ground.
“We can certainly get more moisture added to the river systems causing higher flows in the rivers and streams, but also overland flooding,” Sekhon told CTV News.