Southern Vancouver Island under flood watch, high-streamflow advisory for South Coast – BC

British Columbia’s River Forecast Center issued a flood warning for southern Vancouver Island and the Englishman River on Friday.

The warning adds to an existing high current recommendation for the island, south coast and lower mainland.

The bulletin comes amid concerns over forecasts of heavy rain throughout the weekend combined with snow accumulations already on the ground.

“Heavy, warmer rain falling on top of snow packs can cause large amounts of snowmelt, which would pose additional flooding risks to river systems on southern Vancouver Island,” the forecast center warned.

Rain and snowmelt could depress currents on some waterways on southern Vancouver Island over the five-year return period this weekend and into early next week, sources said.

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BC Hydro crews prepare for power outages and freezing rain

People are advised to stay away from fast-moving rivers and potentially unstable riverbanks throughout the south coast.

Much of the province remained under extreme weather warnings on Friday.

Earlier in the day, Environment Canada issued a rain warning for Metro Vancouver, forecasting between 25 and 50 millimeters of rain for most of the region and between 60 and 90 millimeters for the north coast and the northern parts of Coquitlam and Maple Ridge.

The heavy rain and warmer air are expected to hit the south coast on Saturday and could cause localized flooding in low-lying areas, the national weather and climate agency said.

The Fraser Valley remained under a winter storm warning on Friday, while the Greater Victoria region was under a freezing rain warning.

People are urged to stay off the streets unless absolutely necessary.

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