VANCOUVER — British Columbia is heading into the first very warm stretch of spring, but forecasters say the heat wave due to arrive later in the week won't be accompanied by flooding.
The Environment Canada website shows temperatures in parts of the southern Interior will nudge 30 Celsius by Friday.
Hydrologist Jonathan Boyd, with the B.C. River Forecast Centre, says snow melt caused by the warm weather will swell rivers and streams over the next seven to 10 days.
But most B.C. snowpacks are below normal, and he says that rules out anything like the disastrous floods last year in several parts of the province, including the Boundary and Similkameen regions.
Environment Canada is calling for a high of 32 C through the Fraser Canyon on Friday, almost double that area's average high of 17 C for this time of year.
The BC Wildfire Service fire danger rating has climbed from low across most the province last week to a rating of moderate, with some areas ranked as high, through the western half of B.C.