River Ice Observation Report River Forecast Centre April 19, 2013

2012 – 2013 Report No. 34

The observation flight scheduled for today has been postponed due to inclement weather conditions. A ground observation on Tuesday morning located the ice front just downstream of the Hwy 986 bridge (km 413.9 at 07:45 MST). It had receded 8 km since Monday’s observation flight. At that time, it was 400 m away from connecting to a long open lead that extended at least 30 km. The ice front is now well downstream of the Town of Peace River, and its specific location will be determined on Monday morning.

The ice covers on the and Smoky Rivers have begun to break up. Localized ice jams (deteriorated ice accumulations) have occurred in some locations, resulting in fluctuating water levels. The ice cover on the North Heart River remains in place, and continues to deteriorate with significant surface water present. The water level gauge near Nampa indicates that water levels have begun to increase in response to snowmelt and changing conditions. As these rivers break up, ice may be observed passing through the Town of Peace River. Temperatures are expected to remain slightly below seasonal next week, which is expected to moderate the snowmelt response of rivers in the area. Conditions on these rivers will be closely monitored over the weekend through ground observations, water level gauges and remote cameras.

ESRD and BC Hydro remain in contact regarding river ice conditions and operation of the BC Hydro Peace River facilities.

Observation Details

April 15 (late afternoon) - Ground observations by ESRD and water level gauge analysis – Little o Ice cover remains intact at the Hwy 49 bridge, with ponded water and small open leads present. o A small ice jam formed just downstream of the Hwy 744 bridge. The ice was significantly deteriorated and resulted in minor local water level fluctutations.

April 16 (morning) - Ground observations by ESRD Peace River o km 413.8 – Channel open 40%. o km 413.8 to 413.9 – Brash (deteriorated rubble) ice and log debris. o km 413.9 (just downstream of the Hwy 986 bridge) – Ice front location at 7:45 MST. o km 414.3 past km 445 – Nearly continuous open lead extending far downstream.

Little Smoky River o Ice cover remains intact at the Hwy 49 bridge (km 60.3), with ponded water and small open leads present.

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o The small jam remains in place under the Hwy 744 bridge (km 24.5). It does not appear to have grown in size overnight. Water levels have fallen since the previous evening.

April 17 – Ground and camera observations by BC Hydro o Ice reported to be flowing (ice jam release) at the mouth of the Little Smoky River. This water and ice discharged into the Smoky River upstream of (km 75).

Smoky River at Watino - Water level gauge analysis o Water levels increasing slightly overnight (km 64).

April 18 Smoky River– Ground and camera observations by BC Hydro o Ice that released from the Little Smoky River on April 17 has pushed into the Smoky River and jammed several km upstream of Watino (jam at km 71.2, Watino at km 64.2). o Small accumulation of ice (jam) near the old rail bridge crossing at Watino (km 62-63). o Open water downstream of rail bridge as far as can be seen from the road along the river (km 62 to 55.5). o km 32 – Small rubble ice accumulation o km 5 (near the confluence with the Peace River) – Ice cover remains intact and continues to deteriorate. Open leads and surface water continue to develop.

Smoky River at Watino (km 64) - Water level gauge analysis o Water levels increased approximately 2.5 m overnight as the ice jam approached the gauge at Watino (km 64).

April 19 Little Smoky River near Guy (km 60.3) – Water level gauge analysis o Water level gauge indicates that an ice jammed formed this morning, causing a 0.4 m water level increase. It released just before noon, resulting in a water level decrease of 0.8 m.

Smoky River – Ground and camera observations by BC Hydro o Ice jam at the Hwy 49 bridge at Watino (km 64.2). Water levels have remained steady since the increase overnight. o km 43 – Open water o km 32 – Open water - ice has cleared out overnight. o km 5 (near the confluence with the Peace River) – Ice cover remains intact but continues to deteriorate. Open leads and surface water continue to develop.

Smoky River at Watino (km 64) - Water level gauge analysis o Water levels remain constant with the ice jam in place at the gauge site.

The next observation report will be posted on or before Sunday, April 21.

Temperature Forecast

The following table contains Environment ’s observed and forecasted daily maximum and minimum temperatures through to Thursday, April 25.

Location Day Date High Level Peace River Fort St. John Yesterday 18 April 3.2/-1.4 3.4/-0.3 3.8/-2.8 Today 19 April 0 5 8 Tomorrow 20 April 0/-7 -2/-4 -4/-8 Sunday 21 April 4/-11 1/-11 2/-11 Monday 22 April 5/-8 6/-6 8/-4 Tuesday 23 April 5/-5 7/-5 7/-4 Wednesday 24 April 7/-7 10/-5 10/-1 Thursday 25 April 7/-5 7/-2 8/0

Average Max/Min for 14-Apr 11/-3 12/-1 11/0

Observed Peace River Ice Front Locations 2012-2013

900

Fort Vermilion (832) 800

700 Tompkin's Landing (694) Carcajou (651 - 665)

600 River (565)

500 Sunny Valley (483 - 497)

Town of Peace River (396) 400

Dunvegan (296) 300

Distance Downstream of Bennet Dam (km) 200 BC/AB Border (168)

100

0 01-Nov-12 01-Dec-12 31-Dec-12 30-Jan-13 01-Mar-13 31-Mar-13 30-Apr-13 30-May-13 Date/Time Observed (2012 - 2013) Mean (1973 - 2007) Historical (1973 - 2012)