A Flood Watch has now been issued for the Nazko River and the West Road River, also know as the Blackwater River.
That is an upgrade from the high streamflow advisory that was issued yesterday by the BC River Forecast Centre.
It says those regions are challenging to forecast due to a shortage of snow measurement and river flow stations, but the Nazko and West Road Rivers are both expected to increase rapidly over the weekend due to snowmelt from hot temperatures.
“The rivers could reach 5-year return period flows, or high water, by Monday. Flows could continue to increase through the week depending on how much snow remains in the watershed.”
A strong upper ridge has built across B.C. and will remain through the weekend.
Temperatures are expected to rise up to 10 degrees above normal and while they may lower slightly on Monday, temperatures are expected to remain relatively high though next week.
There was severe flooding in the Nazko Valley back in 2018.