January Thaw

We are in the midst of a major January thaw in the Bella Coola Valley.  Temperatures popped up to a high of 9 C in the Bella Coola Valley today and the freezing level appears to be somewhere above 1600 or 1700 m.  We had some pretty good rain overnight and it did bring the Bella Coola River up significantly, but not anywhere near flood levels.  This condition is very similar to the January 1968 flood which before the 2010 flood was the biggest flood in recent memories.  The January 1968 flood had a significant snow pack in the valley, the freezing level went up very high and it started to rain heavy, which was a perfect formula for a bad flood.  The satellite images don't seem to suggest this warm period will end badly for us this time.  A serious dent has been put in the snow pack on the valley bottom - just about all the nasty ice on driveways and walks is gone, but the ground is frozen and lots of pooled water laying around.  Grizzly