A very moist easterly flow aloft north of an upper low centre moving through the Cariboo is giving heavy rain to the Dawson Creek and Chetwynd areas this morning (June 24, 2011). The rain will continue for the next 24 hours or so. Over 100 millimetres of rain is possible in the Rocky Mountain foothills before the rain tapers to scattered showers Saturday afternoon. This is a classic pattern to give heavy rainfalls as the low is moving very slowly giving a longer time for the rain to persist. Check the radar animation below to see the echoes indicating moderate to heavy rain headed from Alberta towards the southern Peace. Warmer and drier conditions will finally reach the area on Sunday as a ridge of high pressure builds from the west.

Peace upslope rain June 24, 2011

The satellite photo taken at 11 am this morning shows the thick cloud over the Peace stretching all the way to the Central BC coast. The purple lines show the flow around the low and coming from Alberta.