The Weekend Storm Brings The B.C. Only Modest Relief From Drought But More Rain To Come

The province’s online drought map shows the Nicola, Coldwater, Finlay and Parsnip basins ranked at drought level 4, joined by the Lower Mainland and West Vancouver Island, which have dropped a notch since being assigned the most severe ranking at Level 5 earlier this month. Level 4 means that adverse effects of drought are possible, while Level 5 means that these catastrophic effects are almost certain. The Sunshine Coast, eastern Vancouver Island, the eastern Pacific Range and the entire northeastern corner of BC remain at Level 5, despite recent rainfall that dropped between 50 and 70 millimeters on Sunday. Environment Canada says the Sunshine Coast community of Sechelt saw just over 64 millimeters of rain this month, well below the average of 200 millimeters, and not enough to lift water restrictions as the Sechelt region’s main reservoir is at extremely low levels. The storm prompted high-flow warnings for waterways on Vancouver Island and the central and south coasts, but the River Forecast Center expected levels to peak late Monday, and another strong storm could arrive by the end of the week .

title: “The Weekend Storm Brings The B.C. Only Modest Relief From Drought But More Rain To Come " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-04” author: “Deborah Rone”

The province’s online drought map shows the Nicola, Coldwater, Finlay and Parsnip basins ranked at drought level 4, joined by the Lower Mainland and West Vancouver Island, which have dropped a notch since being assigned the most severe ranking at Level 5 earlier this month. Level 4 means that adverse effects of drought are possible, while Level 5 means that these catastrophic effects are almost certain. The Sunshine Coast, eastern Vancouver Island, the eastern Pacific Range and the entire northeastern corner of BC remain at Level 5, despite recent rainfall that dropped between 50 and 70 millimeters on Sunday. Environment Canada says the Sunshine Coast community of Sechelt saw just over 64 millimeters of rain this month, well below the average of 200 millimeters, and not enough to lift water restrictions as the Sechelt region’s main reservoir is at extremely low levels. The storm prompted high-flow warnings for waterways on Vancouver Island and the central and south coasts, but the River Forecast Center expected levels to peak late Monday, and another strong storm could arrive by the end of the week .