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Penticton  

Lake may plateau soon

UPDATE 2:30 p.m.

If the weather cooperates, Okanagan Lake could stop rising within just over a week, provincial officials say.

Shaun Reimer, section head of Public Safety and Protection and manager of the Penticton dam, says the rate of rise for water levels on Okanagan Lake has dropped significantly, to just over two centimetres a day over the last few days.

“Based on the current projections and conditions we’ll probably continue to see that reduction in how fast the lake is rising,” he said, explaining its expected inflows should match outflows in Penticton within the week to 10-day mark.

“We are still very vulnerable to significant rain, and that’s really what we are going to have to watch for going forward,” he added.

Local governments have been armouring the shore based on a projected maximum lake level of 343 metres above sea level, a figure that won't likely be reached without heavy rain. 

Should the skies stay dry, Reimer predicts the lake will rise another 10-20 centimetres higher than Thursday's height of 342.63 metres above sea level.


ORIGINAL 11:15 a.m.

New data from the BC River Forecast Centre shows a “dramatic” snow melt has occurred over the first two weeks of May.

Okanagan snow basins were measured on May 15 at 126 per cent of normal, well down from the 206 per cent registered on May 1.

“Snow packs have largely been depleted from low elevation areas,” the snow bulletin states. “Mid-elevation areas have melted approximately 30-60 per cent of the snow pack, and upper elevations have melted 10-30 per cent.”

In the Similkameen, the drop was even more dramatic — now at 56 per cent of normal, down from 210 per cent two weeks ago. The Boundary was measured at 132 per cent of normal.

“Ongoing flood risk from this season’s snow pack is primarily associated with the remaining mid-to-upper elevation snowpack,” the report states. “In low-to-mid elevation watersheds, snow melt risks have subsided.”

Risks from snowmelt in the Okanagan Lake system, South and North Thompson Rivers and the Kootenay region are expected to last another one to three weeks.

Flood fears in the Okanagan have shifted to the lake, which surpassed full pool last week. The lake’s rise, however, has slowed significantly in recent days. You can track Okanagan Lake levels and how they compare to last year here.



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