Post on 24-Jul-2020
2013 EXTENSIVE YUKON ICE JAM AND FRESHET FLOODING
J Richard JanowiczWater Resources Branch
Yukon Department of EnvironmentWhitehorse, Yukon
CCRN Workshop on Extreme Weather and Hydrology, Canmore, AB, February 11-12, 2013
2013 FLOODING
2013 Biggest Flood Year in 30 years
• 7 major ice jam / freshet floods
• Ice jam floods in unique locations
• Freshet floods in unique locations
• Both in some locations
In Flood
2013 SPRING FLOOD POTENTIAL
Low
Moderate
High
Coffee Creek
2012 – 13 WINTER METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
APRIL 1 SWE
APRIL 2013 METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
MAY 1 SWE
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
4500
5000
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
Deg
ree
Day
s Fr
ost (
Deg
C)
DAWSON DEGREE DAYS FROST
-20
-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
15
20
24-Mar 3-Apr 13-Apr 23-Apr 3-May 13-May 23-May 2-Jun 12-Jun
Tem
pera
ture
(0C
)
Mean
2013
2013 DAWSON AIR TEMPERATURE
2013 BREAK-UP
Return to Normal Temperatures Resulted in Rapid Melt and Runoff
Rapid Discharge and Stage Increase
Breaking Ice into Large and Strong Blocks
COMPRESSED RUNOFF PERIOD
PELLY RIVER AT ROSS RIVER
MAY 1 SWE
LIARD RIVER BASIN – FLOOD OF RECORD
Liard River at Upper Crossing 1960 – 2013
Annual Maximum Peak Flow 2012
LIARD RIVER BASIN - 2012
MAY 1 2012 SWE
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
2-Jun 3-Jun 4-Jun 5-Jun 6-Jun 7-Jun 8-Jun 9-Jun 10-Jun
Cum
ulat
ive
Prec
ipita
tion
Dai
ly P
reci
pita
tion
[mm
]
Daily Precipitation - Liard Basin
Frances Lake
Tuchitua
Hasselberg
JUNE 2 – 7, 2012 RAINFALL – LIARD BASIN
YUKON CLIMATE WARMING??
Major Recent Flooding Events (2007, 2009, 2012, 2013)
Some Evidence Climate Warming Yukon Reality
HISTORICAL TEMPERATURE AND
PRECIPITATION
•Summer Temp + 2 - 6 o C
•Winter Temp + 4 - 6 o C
•Summer Precip + 5 - 10 %
•Winter Precip -10 - + 20 %
Annual National Precipitation Departure
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Snow
Wat
er E
quiv
alen
t (m
m)
LOG CABIN SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT 1958 - 2013
HYLAND RIVER SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT 1976 - 2013
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Snow
Wat
er E
quiv
alen
t (m
m)
• Greater Precipitation
• Higher Temperatures
• Compressed Runoff Period
CLIMATE WARMING IMPACTS ON HYDROLOGIC RESPONSE
CLIMATE WARMING IMPACTS ON HYDROLOGIC RESPONSE
Increasing Peak Flows Due to Melting Glaciers / High Elevation Snowmelt
Atlin River nr Atlin
Maximum Annual Peak Flow
100
150
200
250
300
350
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
Dis
char
ge
(m3 /
s)
CLIMATE WARMING IMPACTS ON HYDROLOGIC RESPONSE
MARSH LAKE MAXIMUM STAGE 1950 – 2013
RIVER ICE REGIME TRENDS
110
120
130
140
150
1890 1910 1930 1950 1970 1990 2010Brea
k-up
Dat
es (J
ulia
n Da
y)
Break-up Timing
Yukon River at Dawson (1896-2013)
•Break-up Timing Advanced 6 days
RIVER ICE REGIME TRENDS
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020Br
eak-
up E
leva
tion
(m)
Break-up Severity
Yukon River at Dawson Annual Maximum Break-up Elevation (1896 - 2013)Dawson - 1979
RIVER ICE REGIME TRENDS
TELECONNECTIONS??
HYLAND RIVER SWE
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
1940 1960 1980 2000 2020
Snow
Wat
er E
quiv
alen
t (m
m)
LOG CABIN SWE
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Snow
Wat
er E
quiv
alen
t (m
m)
LOG CABIN SWE / SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE (PDO INDEX)
HYLAND RIVER SWE / SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURE
DAWSON DEGREE DAYS FROST / SST
OTHER TELECONNECT –
IONS ?
1ENSO 2MJO 3PNA 4AO
11-Dec La Nina N-P P
12-Jan La Nina P-0-P P-N
12-Feb N/A N/A N/A
12-Mar La Nina N-P-P P-P-0
12-Apr 0 P-N 0
12-May 0 N-0-0 P
12-Jun 0 P-N-P N-0
12-Jul 0 0-0-N N-P-0
12-Aug 0 N-0-P P-N-N
12-Sep 0 0-0-N P-0-N
12-Oct 0 N N
12-Nov 0 0-N N-P-N
12-Dec 0 N-N-P N
13-Jan 0 P-N P-0 0-N-P
13-Feb 0 8,1,6 P P-N
13-Mar 0 6,7,3 P-N-0 N
13-Apr 0 3,4,N,N 0-N N-P-0
13-May 0 12,34,5,N N P
13-Jun 0 N,N,N,1 N P
13-Jul 0 2,3,N,N N 0
13-Aug 0 N,N,8,1 0 P
13-Sep 0 1,2N,5,6 P N
13-Oct 0 6,N,N,8 N P
13-Nov 0 1,N,N,N N P
13-Dec 0 N,3,4,N N P
1El Nino Southern Oscillation
2Madden-Julian Oscillation
3Pacific North American Oscillation
4Arctic Oscillation
• El Nino – Southern Oscillation
• Madden – Julian Oscillation
• Pacific North American Oscillation
• Arctic Oscillation
FUTURE (PRESENT) DIRECTIONS
• Emergency Measures Organization has Funding to Carry Out Floodplain Mapping of Every Yukon Community
• 2 Year Project• LiDAR Surveys 2014• Environment Yukon Developing Flood
Frequency Curves
THANK YOU