High water advisory issued for Porcupine River at Old Crow, Yukon

Emergency officials in the Yukon have issued a high water advisory for the Porcupine River at Old Crow, saying ice breakup on the river is expected in the coming days, "with flooding impacts possible."

"These impacts could range from minor to major depending on whether ice jams form downstream of Old Crow," the advisory, issued Monday afternoon, reads.

It says spring runoff will increase this week, with warmer temperatures forecasted to begin on Tuesday. This means water levels in the headwaters of the Porcupine River basin will continue to rise rapidly, the advisory says.

Breakup on the Porcupine River at Old Crow is expected to happen in the next four to eight days.

Officials say the high water advisory will be upgraded to a flood watch advisory "when the ice breakup front progresses beyond the headwaters of the Porcupine River basin."

Earlier this month, emergency officials warned that flood risk was high this year in Old Crow due to a mixture of high snowpack and dynamic freezing of the rivers. As of May 1, the Porcupine River basin snowpack was at 182 per cent of the historical median — a new record for the basin and for Old Crow.

Greg Blackjack, the director of the Yukon's emergency measures organization, said earlier that plans were being made to fly both equipment and personnel to Old Crow to deal with potential flooding.