British Columbian Mountain Roads Flood as Deadly Canadian Heat Wave Melts Snowpack

A deadly record-breaking heat wave in the Pacific Northwest triggered a "significant amount of snowmelt" in the mountains of British Columbia in late June, leading to widespread flooding, according to Canada's http://bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca/warnings/advisories/FWT_2021_0626_1000_Lillooet_iss.pdf Ministry of Forests . Officials said the snowmelt in high elevations is as great as 50 mm (2 inches) per day. Footage shared on Facebook by Trevor Adams shows water rushing along the Squamish Valley Road, with at least one car submerged. Speaking to Storyful, Adams said that he noticed the river water levels had risen dramatically after returning from an overnight camp at nearby Blanca Peak on June 26. "All the years I've been in the valley, this was one of the fastest snow melts I've seen," Adams said. The Ministry of Forests http://bcrfc.env.gov.bc.ca/warnings/advisories/FWT_2021_0626_1000_Lillooet_iss.pdf issued a flood watch on June 26 for areas surrounding the Lillooet River, which connects to the Squamish River, due to hot temperatures triggering significant amount of snowmelt at the higher elevations of the Lilloet River. The highest known temperature in Canada Ð 47.9 C (118.2 F) Ð was recorded in Lytton, British Columbia, on Monday, Environment Canada https://twitter.com/ECCCWeatherBC/status/1409725029185724417 reported . Police in British Columbia say they have responded to over 60 sudden deaths since Friday, including many seniors, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-heat-wave-heat-dome-sudden-deaths-1.6084873 local media reported. Credit: Trevor Adams via Storyful Trevor Adams via Storyful