A swollen South Thompson River winds alongside Highway 1 through the Valleyview area.

(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - The North Thompson River north of Kamloops is still under high streamflow advisory and the Clearwater River is under a flood watch as we head into a week of rain.

Sunday afternoon the B.C. River Forecast Centre said the flood watch for the Clearwater River along with the streamflow advisory for the North Thompson River was in effect following a couple days of rain and another 25-30 mm forecast by the end of the day Monday.

The Clearwater River reached one in 10-year flow levels over the weekend and currently is at 1288 cubic metres per second flow level. Forecasters believe the river could peak by Tuesday but rainfall totals could change that.

A little further south the North Thompson River at McLure sits at a one in 5-year flow level with a flow rate of 2247 cubic metres per second. From Saturday to Sunday afternoon the river rose 36 cm, more than a foot, but slowed. The river is expected to continue rising because of the high flows in the tributaries such as the Clearwater River and then flow rates should subside late Monday or Tuesday.

The South Thompson River at Chase continues to rise at a steady rate while the Thompson River at Kamloops dipped to about 5.3 metres heading into the weekend then climbed to nearly 6.3 m by Monday morning. The river may begin to fall within the next 36 hours, though that could change if more rain than expected falls within the watershed.

The Rivers Trail at the Riverside Park CN underpass was closed early last week because of high waters but it is not expected the Riverside Park pier will have to be shut down this year.

No Kamloops properties are considered in jeopardy at this point but the city is offering sand and sandbags at most fire halls (all but Fire Station 7 in Aberdeen) if residents feel they need to protect their property.

Residents are also being reminded to be cautious while boating because of the large amount of debris and low clearance under bridges, especially the CN bridge behind Interior Savings Centre. The RCMP are advising against any boating or swimming in direct current flows right now. 

Environment Canada is calling for slightly below normal temperatures and at least a chance of rain through Thursday. Heading into the weekend near-normal temperatures of 21-23 C are expected along with some sunshine.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

-This story was updated at 2:51 p.m., May 26 with information about the pier.

News from © iNFOnews, 2014