Southeastern B.C. under flood watch due to storms, high temperatures

Shops on a tree-lined street in Revelstoke, B.C., in June 2018. (Shutterstock)

CRANBROOK — A wide swath of southeastern British Columbia is under a flood watch as risks rise from rainfall and warm weather accelerating snowmelt.

B.C.’s River Forecast Centre says both the eastern and western portion of the Kootenays, as well as the upper Columbia region, are seeing rising river levels that “will approach or exceed bankfull.”

The centre says high river flows are expected late Friday through early next week, although flood risks may be more muted if storms forecasted in the region shift east toward Alberta.

The communities covered by the flood watch include Golden and Revelstoke in the upper Columbia, as well as Cranbrook, Fernie, Kimberley, Creston, Nelson, Castlegar, Trail and Nakusp in the Kootenays.

Warm weather hit the Prairies and parts of Interior B.C. this week, with five B.C. communities matching or breaking daily high temperature marks on Thursday.

A thunderstorm watch was also in effect Thursday for the Kootenay region, and multiple communities in the area have storms in the forecast into Saturday.

“Current modelling is indicating the potential for the heaviest rain to fall in Alberta, with areas of heaviest rain in B.C. to be focused around the southeast and areas around the Upper Columbia, East Kootenay and into the West Kootenay,” the River Forecast Centre’s advisory says.

“Weather models are indicating rainfall totals through Monday of 50 to 100+ mm in these areas, and 20-60 mm through other areas identified.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2026.