Atmospheric river turns old lake bed back into a lake in Canada
(CNN) — Another atmospheric river will be streaming into western Washington and parts of British Columbia, Canada, this week.
While back-to-back-to-back systems for the region seem a bit like a broken record lately, the phenomenon is truly significant.
Rivers in the sky have led to landslides blocking roads, rivers inundating towns and, in one case, returning an old lake bed back into a lake.
British Columbia typically sees atmospheric river events in the month of November, just as the Pacific Northwest does. The problem for both regions this year has been the consistency of the systems, with no breaks for drying in between.
Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP
Flooded farms are seen in this aerial photo in Sumas Prairie, Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Nov. 22, 2021.
“The first atmospheric river event hit us hard on November 13 to 16, and it dumped a lot, 150-300 mm (roughly 6-11 inches), of precipitation in less than 48 hours,” said Johnson Zhong, a meteorologist for Environment Canada.
There has also been rain on top of fresh snow, which has exacerbated flooding.
“There was up to 30-50 cm (1-1.5 feet) of fresh snow at 1500-2500 meters (5,000-8,000 feet) high,” he observed. “One of our atmospheric river events rained much higher than 2500 meters, so that rain melted the snow and helped create the flooding.”
One of the areas seeing the greatest amount of flooding was the Sumas area, about 50 miles east of Vancouver.
“One hundred years ago there was a Sumas lake. Then they pumped the water out to make good farmland. It has been farmland for the last 100 years, and now it’s a lake again,” Zhong explained.
The unprecedented amount of rain has created major flooding, washing out bridges and roads, completely cutting off many other small Canadian towns to the rest of the world.
Merritt, British Columbia, is one of those towns.
“Merritt is a town of 7,000 people and is totally flooded,” Zhong said. “That town is in an area that doesn’t get a lot of rain. But with the combination of rain and snowmelt, the entire town flooded. The water and sewage system went down, and the entire town had to be evacuated.”
Mudslides and landslides are a major concern for both British Columbia and Washington.
“Persistent rainfall over the last few weeks has dramatically increased soil moisture to high levels across western Washington,” the National Weather Service office in Seattle reported. “Heavy rainfall of an additional 1 to 3 inches in the mountains and up to 1.5 inches in the lowlands has fallen over the last 24 hours. Therefore, the increased threat of landslides will continue through today despite the heaviest rainfall coming to an end.”
-
Jonathan Hayward
A barn is seen surrounded by flood waters in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
Rising flood water surround a home and cover Highway 1 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said impassable highways were creating havoc in his city as police and firefighters tried to get people to evacuation centers. Sunny skies followed two days of torrential storms that dumped the typical amount of rain that the city gets in all of November, but the mayor said the water was still rising and Highway 1 would be cut shut down for some time. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Elaine Thompson
Passersby surround a car whose driver went past a barricade and into the flooded Nooksack River, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Ferndale, Wash. About a half-dozen citizens went into the river, where they stopped the car from floating further and muscled it back onshore. No one was injured. An atmospheric river—a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific and into Washington and Oregon—caused heavy rainfall in recent days, bringing major flooding in the area. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
Elaine Thompson
Pickup trucks send up plumes of muddy water as they pass on a flooded road, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, near Everson, Wash. An atmospheric river, a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific and into Washington and Oregon, caused heavy rainfall in recent days, bringing major flooding in the area. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
Elaine Thompson
A family stands atop a flood wall holding back the Skagit River as their dog waits below Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Mount Vernon, Wash. An atmospheric river—a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific and into Washington and Oregon—caused heavy rainfall in recent days, bringing major flooding in the area. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
-
Jonathan Hayward
A truck is stranded along a flooded road in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
A boat goes under an overpass as it speeds along a flooded highway 1 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
Abandoned transport trucks are seen on the Trans-Canada Highway in a flooded area of Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
A volunteer carries a young girl to high ground after using a boat to rescue her, her father and dog who were stranded by high water due to flooding in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Elaine Thompson
Lucia Cruz Reyes, right, and her daughter Bedenice Jose Cruz clean mud from the floor of their home that flooded a day earlier, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Everson, Wash. An atmospheric river, a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific and into Washington and Oregon, caused heavy rainfall in recent days, bringing major flooding in the area. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
-
Darryl Dyck
A woman and children who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat as another person's car is seen submerged in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
A volunteer carries a young girl to high ground after using a boat to rescue a woman and children who were stranded by high water due to flooding in Abbotsford, British Columbia on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Officials in a small city near the Canada border are calling the damage devastating after a storm that dumped rain for days caused flooding and mudslides. City officials in Sumas, Washington said Tuesday that hundreds of people had been evacuated and estimated that 75% of homes had water damage. Just over the border, residents in about 1,100 rural homes in Abbotsford were told to evacuate as waterways started to rise quickly. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
A woman and children who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat as another person's car is submerged near them in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
A man, toddler and dog who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
A woman and children who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat Abbotsford, British Columbia on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Officials in a small city near the Canada border are calling the damage devastating after a storm that dumped rain for days caused flooding and mudslides. City officials in Sumas, Washington said Tuesday that hundreds of people had been evacuated and estimated that 75% of homes had water damage. Just over the border, residents in about 1,100 rural homes in Abbotsford were told to evacuate as waterways started to rise quickly. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
-
Jonathan Hayward
A flooded Highway 1 is seen in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
Rising waters are seen surrounding a home in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Elaine Thompson
With the driver still aboard, rescuers push a car back ashore after pulling it from the flooded Nooksack River on Main Street Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Ferndale, Wash. The group of citizens went into the river and stopped the car, whose driver had gone past a road closed sign, then muscled it back onshore. No one was injured. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
Jonathan Hayward
Flood waters surround a home in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
JONATHAN HAYWARD
Rising flood waters are seen surrounding barns in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
-
Jonathan Hayward
A boat speeds along a flooded Highway 1 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said impassable highways were creating havoc in his city as police and firefighters tried to get people to evacuation centers. Sunny skies followed two days of torrential storms that dumped the typical amount of rain that the city gets in all of November, but the mayor said the water was still rising and Highway 1 would be cut shut down for some time. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
Highway 1 is seen covered in flood waters looking towards Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
A flooded Highway 1 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said impassable highways were creating havoc in his city as police and firefighters tried to get people to evacuation centers. Sunny skies followed two days of torrential storms that dumped the typical amount of rain that the city gets in all of November, but the mayor said the water was still rising and Highway 1 would be cut shut down for some time. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
A boat speeds along a flooded Highway 1 in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Abbotsford Mayor Henry Braun said impassable highways were creating havoc in his city as police and firefighters tried to get people to evacuation centers. Sunny skies followed two days of torrential storms that dumped the typical amount of rain that the city gets in all of November, but the mayor said the water was still rising and Highway 1 would be cut shut down for some time. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Elaine Thompson
Blue skies and light clouds stand over a flooded roadway, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, near Everson, Wash. An atmospheric river, a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific and into Washington and Oregon, caused heavy rainfall in recent days, bringing major flooding in the area. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
-
Darryl Dyck
A boat travels along the Trans-Canada Highway past an abandoned transport trailer in a flooded area of Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
People in a boat travel across flooded farmland in Abbotsford, British Columbia on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Officials in a small city near the Canada border are calling the damage devastating after a storm that dumped rain for days caused flooding and mudslides. City officials in Sumas, Washington said Tuesday that hundreds of people had been evacuated and estimated that 75% of homes had water damage. Just over the border, residents in about 1,100 rural homes in Abbotsford were told to evacuate as waterways started to rise quickly. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
A car is seen in a flooded ditch along a road in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Officials in a small city near the Canada border are calling the damage devastating after a storm that dumped rain for days caused flooding and mudslides. City officials in Sumas, Washington said Tuesday that hundreds of people had been evacuated and estimated that 75% of homes had water damage. Just over the border, residents in about 1,100 rural homes in Abbotsford were told to evacuate as waterways started to rise quickly. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
A road sign is surrounded by flood waters as a farm is pictured in the background in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
Flooding on Highway 1 looking eastbound is seen in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Officials in a small city near the Canada border are calling the damage devastating after a storm that dumped rain for days caused flooding and mudslides. City officials in Sumas, Washington said Tuesday that hundreds of people had been evacuated and estimated that 75% of homes had water damage. Just over the border, residents in about 1,100 rural homes in Abbotsford were told to evacuate as waterways started to rise quickly. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
-
Jonathan Hayward
Flooding on Highway 1 looking westbound towards Abbotsford is seen in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. Officials in a small city near the Canada border are calling the damage devastating after a storm that dumped rain for days caused flooding and mudslides. City officials in Sumas, Washington said Tuesday that hundreds of people had been evacuated and estimated that 75% of homes had water damage. Just over the border, residents in about 1,100 rural homes in Abbotsford were told to evacuate as waterways started to rise quickly. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
People stand on a sidewalk above a house surrounded by floodwaters in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
A man, toddler and dog who were rescued by a volunteer in a boat after being stranded by high water due to flooding walk on high ground, in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Darryl Dyck
A woman and children who were stranded by high water due to flooding are rescued by a volunteer operating a boat in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
A man lets a dog out of a cage as flood waters rise in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
-
Jonathan Hayward
A truck carrying cattle drives through the flood waters as they go over a road in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
A man lets a dog out of a cage as flood waters rise in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Elaine Thompson
People stand atop a flood wall holding back the Skagit River near a flower sculpture that honors the town's annual tulip festival in downtown Mount Vernon, Wash., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. An atmospheric river—a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific and into Washington and Oregon—caused heavy rainfall in recent days, bringing major flooding in the area. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
Elaine Thompson
Two boys balance atop a flood wall holding back the flooded Skagit River, right, in downtown Mount Vernon, Wash., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. An atmospheric river—a huge plume of moisture extending over the Pacific and into Washington and Oregon—caused heavy rainfall in recent days, bringing major flooding in the area. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
DARRYL DYCK
Waves crash over the seawall behind a worker attempting to direct people around a flooded portion of the seawall during a massive windstorm, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
-
DARRYL DYCK
A worker attempts to direct people around a flooded portion of the seawall as a barge that drifted loose on English Bay during a massive windstorm sits grounded on the rocks behind her, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
A vehicle is submerged in flood waters along a road in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
A vehicle is submerged in flood waters along a road in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Jonathan Hayward
Search and rescue personnel help flood evacuees disembark from a helicopter in Agassiz, British Columbia, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. (Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press via AP)
-
Elaine Thompson
Two men stand in the flooded Skagit River and look across at an RV, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
-
Elaine Thompson
Dale Archer, left, leads his daughters Myranda and Krysten Archer through floodwater from their uncle's home Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. The heavy rainfall of recent days brought major flooding of the Skagit River that is expected to continue into at least Monday evening. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
Elaine Thompson
Benjamin Lopez steps from floodwater surrounding his parents home Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. The heavy rainfall of recent days brought major flooding of the Skagit River that is expected to continue into at least Monday evening. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
-
Lisa Baumann
Caylon Coomes, second from left, and another man prepare to paddleboard in floodwaters on city streets in Bellingham, Wash., Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. Widespread flooding in the Pacific Northwest amid days of heavy rainfall caused people to evacuate their homes, stranded drivers, and closed businesses, roads and schools. (AP Photo/Lisa Baumann)
-
Elaine Thompson
A man operates a personal watercraft in a playfield flooded by water from the Skagit River, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
