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Don't worry about flooding yet, experts say, but Calgary may be in for wild weather this summer

Calgarians should brace themselves for some wild weather from a so-called "ring of fire" weather pattern this summer — but don't need to worry about overland flooding just yet, despite high river levels from melting snow and thunderstorms.

Kyle Brittain, the Calgary bureau chief for the Weather Network, said a "ring of fire" weather pattern will bring some storms.

"Unlike the song by Johnny Cash or the phenomenon around the edge of the Pacific Ocean where you have that enhanced area of earthquake and volcanic activity, this is a transient meteorological phenomenon," Brittain said.

The ring of fire happens when sinking air meets a dominant ridge of high pressure near the Rockies, creating a dome of heat with enhanced thunderstorm activity running around its periphery.

And with May already being a wet month, Brittain said a stormy and unstable June could bring flooding concerns.

Maarten van Haeren
Maarten van Haeren

Sandy Davis, who leads the city's river engineering team, said they start monitoring the Bow and Elbow River watersheds 24/7 in late April.

"We are looking at snow gauges that measure the snowpack up in the mountains, we are looking at rain gauges to see how much rain has fallen, and then we have flow gauges in the river to tell us how much flow is there. Those extend all the way up to Bragg Creek, Banff, Cochrane, Lake Louise, in our reservoirs, and then in our rivers through Calgary," she said.

And while Calgary issued a boating advisory earlier this week on the rivers, Davis said it would take a few days of heavy rains in the mountains and foothills to seriously raise flooding concerns.

Environment Canada's forecast calls for a 30-per cent chance of rain on Saturday and again on Tuesday, with highs in the mid to high teens for most of the week.

Davis said recent reports of flooding in parts of the city and nearby in Exshaw are likely due to high groundwater levels.

And, recent work on the Glenmore Reservoir has added capacity to manage water in the city.