B.C. is watching and waiting to see what will happen when the third atmospheric river arrives Tuesday.
This one follows on the heels of the huge rainfall event from Nov. 13 to 15 and then another storm that hit over the weekend.
Armel Castellan, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said Monday B.C. is in a 24-hour break at this time.
He said the second storm that happened over the weekend was “impactful.”
About 104 millimetres fell in Abbotsford, while 127 millimetres was recorded in Hope.
The third atmospheric river is coming from the Phillippines, Castellan said, and will deliver a “relatively strong punch” similar to what we saw this weekend.
Between 50 and 100 mm of rain is expected to fall on the South Coast during the next storm, Castellan said, with 50 closer to the border and more along the North Shore Mountains.
Hope could see between 60 and 90 mm, he added, while Abbotsford could receive between 40 and 70 mm, along with the Coquihalla Summit.
Castellan said one of the big concerns will be the potential for snow melt in some regions, which could add to the overall water totals.
“It will be problematic because (the storms) are coming so close back-to-back with the runoff and the saturated soil,” he said.
But the South Coast is not the only area of concern with this new storm.
The North Coast could receive up to 40 cm of snow followed by freezing rain, Castellan added. This will impact areas such as Terrace and Stewart.
In the Interior, such as Golden and Shuswap, the transition to higher freezing levels will bring a lot of rain, he added and the Central Coast, such as Bella Coola and Bella Bella, will get the most rain – in some cases up to 200 mm could fall.
Castellan said some strong winds are also expected, which could make clean-up efforts even more problematic.
The province will then get another break Thursday and Friday before a weaker weather system will move in Saturday, Castellan added.
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