The Highwood River is slowing down

The Highwood River may have a higher flow rate than it did last week, but it won’t last long.

During their weekly river monitoring update on Friday, June 14, the Town of High River noted the river's current flow rate has gone up since their last update.

Currently, the river has a flow rate of 28.44 meters per second, which falls into the normal flow rate of  25 to 65 cubic meters per second.

The week prior, on June 7th, the Town reported the flow rate was at 25.8 cubic meters per second.

Even though the flow rate has increased, the remaining snowpack is shrinking.

The Town reported last week that the snowpack was equivalent to 277 mm (10.9 inches) of snow water, but by June 14th, they noted the snowpack had shrunk to almost half its size, and now is equivalent to 141 mm (5.5 inches) of snow water.

With minimal precipitation forecasted in the area this week and warm temperatures, it’s expected the remaining snowpack will slowly melt off later into the season than previous years.

The snowpack was completely melted away by June 2, 2023.

During their weekly River Monitoring Updates, the Town also announced that the Town’s Protective Services team has completed their annual flood prevention checklist and planning for this year’s hazard season.

Crews will continue to monitor the snowpack levels, the weather, and the river forecasting throughout the hazard season.

To see the Town’s Emergency Preparedness and be prepared in case of an emergency, click here.

To stay up to date on the Highwood River levels, click here.