Flood watches, streamflow advisories in place amid heavy rain in B.C. Interior

British ColumbiaOfficials have issued flood watches and high streamflow advisories for parts of northern B.C. and the Interior as rains and thunderstorms pass through the province.Wildfire conditions improve, but moderate showers and thunderstorms expected in parts of the InteriorAkshay Kulkarni · CBC News · Posted: Jun 21, 2025 2:55 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoCranbrook, B.C. has had heavy rain and parts of the province are under a flood watch. (Corey Bullock/CBC)Officials have issued flood watches and high streamflow advisories for parts of northern B.C. and the Interior as rains and thunderstorms pass through the province.Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement warning of up to 40 mm of rain and embedded thunderstorms in the southern Interior through Saturday afternoon.Flood watches — which mean river levels are rising and could go over the top of banks — have been maintained for the Upper Columbia and East Kootenay regions in the east, as well as a portion of central B.C.Meanwhile, high streamflow advisories, which indicate that river levels are rising, are in place for regions stretching from the Peace in northern B.C. to the Similkameen in the south.The B.C. River Forecast Centre has issued flood watches — marked in orange — for sections of central and eastern B.C. Meanwhile, high streamflow advisories — marked in yellow — have been posted for sections of the north and the southern Interior. (B.C. River Forecast Centre)”We’re watching this pretty broad area, because it is a large precipitation event coming in, and it’s coming from this unusual direction,” said Natasha Cowie, a hydrologist with the B.C. River Forecast Centre.”It’s a bit of an unusual storm because it’s coming in from the eastern side, hitting the Rockies,” she added. “So Alberta is probably going to get quite wet, and then some of that rain is going to make it on over to us as well.”It’s hard to predict the exact areas where flooding could occur, as forecasters don’t know exactly how much rain will fall, and how the ground will absorb it, Cowie said.”Use a lot of caution around rivers and streams, especially if you’re out with children or with pets,” she said. “Just be aware that flows are probably going to be pretty high. There could be a lot of debris in the water.”It was a rainy Saturday morning in Cranbrook, B.C., one of the regions of B.C. where a flood watch is in place due to heavy rain passing through the province. Here, the intersection of Highway 3 and 9 Avenue is seen from a webcam. (DriveBC)Environment Canada said showers will be widespread Saturday in the southern Interior, and thunderstorms will further increase precipitation rates.A severe thunderstorm watch was issued for the South Thompson region, including Kamloops, just before 11 a.m. PT.The same weather system could bring wet snow over higher elevations, and motorists on the Coquihalla, Okanagan Connector and Highway 3 should be cautious, Environment Canada said.Highway 43 near Elkford, B.C., about 690 km east of Kelowna, looked like a winter wonderland as a weather system brought rain and wet snow to parts of B.C. on Saturday afternoon. (DriveBC)Jane Cook, a fire information officer with the B.C. Wildfire Service, said the rainfall was good news and is helping bring down fire danger in the province.She added, however, that the thunderstorms in the southern half of the province could lead to wind gusts of up to 70 km/h.”Although this precipitation can bring a reprieve from that elevated fire activity, [in] regions that are receiving heavy rainfall, particularly those that have been experiencing prolonged drought, it brings the potential for moderate flood hazard to emerge,” she said.Cook said that firefighting personnel were on standby in case they needed to assist with flood support this weekend.Environment Canada says that thunderstorms would further increase precipitation rates in the southern Interior, and a severe thunderstorm watch has been issued in one part of B.C. on Saturday morning. (Eric Foss/CBC)ABOUT THE AUTHORAkshay Kulkarni is an award-winning journalist who has worked at CBC British Columbia since 2021. Based in Vancouver, he is most interested in data-driven stories. You can email him at akshay.kulkarni@cbc.ca.With files from Dana Kelly and Tarnjit Parmar