The River Forecast Centre is issuing a flood watch advisory for North Shore and Metro Vancouver including Coquitlam River, Alouette River, Kanaka Creek, MacKay Creek.
There is heavy precipitation along the BC coast today, with the heaviest rainfall on the west coast of Vancouver Island and along the North Shore Mountains.
Storm total rainfall amounts in the wettest areas may exceed 150-200 mm, with lower elevation and more protected areas expecting amounts in the 50-100 mm range.
Rivers are expected to rise on Friday and Saturday because of the rainfall. Most affected would be North Shore, where an earlier advisory has been upgraded to a flood watch.
It is expected that rivers will reach or exceed 5-year flows, including the Coquitlam River and Alouette River.
While some snow melt is expected during this event, snow pack at higher elevations is deep enough that it will provide some absorption of the added rainfall and buffer the impact of the rainfall on runoff.
The public is advised to stay clear of the fast-flowing rivers and potentially unstable riverbanks during the high-river-level period.
