More flooding in Prince George can be expected in the next few days.
According to B.C. River Forecast Centre hydrologist David Campbell, the weather isn't making any promises but the rivers are still flush with water and a lot of snow is melting in the mountains.
That extra water is expected to arrive at Foreman Flats and Paddlewheel Park in the next two to three days. The only unknown is just how much it will be.
"I am concerned about the wet weather we've been getting, and the warm weather at the same time," said Campbell. "One of the key things for the Upper Fraser watershed is it has been fairly warm and it has transitioned into heavy snow melt. There is quite a bit of snow in the upper basin, and it is already sending a lot of water down to the tributaries of the Fraser, but we could get really warm weather and we could get rain, both of which would make a full river flood its banks."
The freezing point, said Campbell, is the 2,000 or 2,500 metres point on local mountains. Any precipitation higher than that adds to the snowpack and will slowly melt off as usual, but anything right around that mark (or lower) will not only cascade down to the rivers it will also wash down the snows from that cusp elevation.
At least the torrential downpours Prince George experienced on Monday and Tuesday will play little role in any potential flooding.
"It seemed to be almost bull's eyed on Prince George but a little might have poked a bit into the Macgregor watershed," Campbell said. "It wasn't a problem, it entered and exited the Prince George system quickly, except it keeps the river level a bit higher when that other water is coming down from the snowpack."
The South Fort George water gauge sat at a level of about 8.7 metres deep, as of Wednesday noon. The threshold for flooding is 9.4 metres at that spot. On Saturday, the water peaked at 9.7 metres which triggered evacuation orders for the lowland residential neighbourhoods affected, but did no reported damage. The trend in the river right now is slowly rising waters.
"Saturday might not have been the peak peak," Campbell said. "You should be extra cautious around Prince George that there is some definite potential for flooding in the next couple of weeks."
He added that the rest of the province is seeing little effects of the spring runoff, "the worst on the Fraser system has been at P.G.," but the rest of the province could face flooding along the Fraser if substantial rain, substantial heat, or both come to pass in the higher elevations.
