BC South Coast Flood Alerts Downgraded After Heavy Rain

Residents along British Columbia's south coast welcomed clearer skies on Saturday after a multiday atmospheric river dumped up to 300 millimetres of rain across the region, prompting flood alerts, evacuations and a local state of emergency. The B.C. River Forecast Centre downgraded its flood watch to a lower-level high streamflow advisory, noting that rivers had peaked at modest levels and begun receding as cooler temperatures curbed snowmelt runoff.

The storm system, which intensified from Sunday through Friday, brought the heaviest precipitation to areas around Howe Sound, the Coast Mountains, Metro Vancouver's North Shore mountains and the Fraser Valley. Initial snowfall in mid- and high-elevation zones gave way to rapid melting as warming air raised freezing levels, swelling streams and rivers. By Friday, the rain had eased, allowing water levels to stabilize in many spots. The high streamflow advisory now covers the south coast, the Lillooet River near Pemberton, and the Fraser Valley, Skagit and Similkameen regions, indicating rising river levels but no expectation of major flooding.

In the Fraser Valley, the regional district declared a state of local emergency last week...