Many in Kelowna, BC, are keeping a close eye on Mission Creek, after heavy rains Sunday and into Monday prompted the BC River Forecast Center to issue a flood watch for the waterway.
So far, July in the Okanagan has been wet. The southern interior has received 10 to 20mm of precipitation since Sunday, prompting the flood watch.
“It’s a combination, of course, of the rain that happened yesterday and then the possibility of rain for the next couple of days,” said BC River Forecast Center hydrologist Jonathan Boyd.
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Mission Creek is the largest tributary that feeds Lake Okanagan. Recent rains are also having an impact on lake levels.
“This rain event that happened yesterday afternoon pushed the lake another centimeter again,” Boyd said.
“Again, that compares to having it lowered a couple of inches recently as well. Most likely we are getting close to the peak of the lake for the season.
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Despite the risk of flooding in some areas, the amount of unseasonal rainfall is good news for our forests at a time when the province would normally be ready for wildfire season.
“The BC drought technical task force met for the first time last week, and it was across the board. Everywhere it was rated at zero, from zero to level 5,” Boyd said.
“It’s the first time I can remember that no area of the province at this time of year was worried about drought.”
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A woman whose garden overlooks Mission Creek in Rutland says she isn’t worried yet, but is closely monitoring the situation.
“This year has been much higher and for a longer period of time than any other year I have lived here,” said Fatima Akehurst.
Akehurst usually says she enjoys a small sandy beach in her backyard, but she hasn’t been able to use it at all this year.
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“Also in July of last year, when we had hot 40-degree weather, we were sitting in the creek and had to make little pools because the water was so low,” Akehurst described.
“This year, it’s very high and consistently high, going up and down every time it rains.”
The public is asked to stay away from Mission Creek during the flood watch, but the forecast calls for a postponement.
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“In the long-term forecast looking into the future, we don’t expect large amounts of moisture,” explained Peter Quinlan, a meteorologist for Global News.
“We might see some scattered splashes, but I don’t expect that to affect the water levels significantly. So really the concern was the humidity that we had from Sunday to Monday.
The River Forecast Center will continue to monitor the situation and update advisories as weather conditions change.
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