As of 10am, Saturday, June 26, the River Forecast Centre is upgrading to a Flood Watch for the Lillooet River, including:
• Pemberton
• Lillooet Lake
• Lillooet River and tributaries
• Harrison Lake
The public is advised to stay clear of fast-flowing rivers and potentially unstable riverbanks during the high-streamflow period.
Hot temperatures over the past several days have triggered significant amount of snowmelt at the higher elevations of the Lillooet River. Based on the data from the automated snow weather stations located in the Lillooet basin, it is estimated that snow water equivalent (SWE) at high elevations ranges from 100 mm to 500 mm, and melting at 40-50 mm per day. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) forecasts continuous high temperatures up to 40°C in Pemberton and other areas in the Lillooet basin for the coming days. These high temperatures will increase substantially the snowmelt and glacier melt which will cause river levels to rise significantly in the coming days.
Based on the current hydrologic modeling, the LILLOOET RIVER NEAR PEMBERTON (Water Survey of Canada gauge 08MG005) is expected to peak at approximately 800 m3/s (approaching a 10-year return period) on Thursday (July 1). The LILLOOET RIVER AT TENAS NARROWS (08MG027) is expected to peak at approximately 1,500 m3/s (20-year return period) on Thursday (July 1). HARRISON LAKE NEAR HARRISON HOT SPRINGS (08MG012) is expected to peak at approximately 13.2 m (50-year return period) on Friday to Saturday (July 1-2). Uncertainty in weather and hydrologic modelling indicates that higher, or lower, than forecasted flows are possible. Details of the CLEVER Model forecasts for this region can be found at: http://bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca/freshet/map_clever.html
The River Forecast Centre continues to monitor the conditions and will provide updates as conditions warrant.
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