An atmospheric river (AR) with moderate-to-strong integrated vapor transport (IVT) exceeding 500 kg m⁻¹ s⁻¹ is forecast to make landfall over the Pacific Northwest and southern British Columbia on the evening of August 14, 2025, bringing sustained AR conditions for about 24 hours and significant precipitation through August 16.
The first significant rainfall event in weeks is forecast for coastal British Columbia, Canada, with an atmospheric river expected to bring 20–40 mm (0.8–1.6 inches) to the Lower Mainland and over 50 mm (2 inches) to higher elevations from August 15 to 17, 2025. The rainfall is expected to bring some relief to the region following prolonged wildfire activity that has scorched over 7 000 000 ha (1.8 million acres) across Canada making it the country’s second-worst wildfire season on record.
A new study published on July 18, 2025, in Science Advances presents the first high-resolution seismic images of a nascent subduction zone off the coast of British Columbia’s Haida Gwaii archipelago, revealing a developing megathrust fault capable of producing powerful earthquakes and tsunamis.
A very bright fireball was observed over the skies of Washington, U.S. and British Columbia, Canada at around 02:17 UTC on Sunday, December 29, 2024. Observers noted that the fireball was particularly bright and visible through heavy cloud cover, displaying hues of white, green, and red with some reports of yellow and light blue.
Category 4 Atmospheric River (AR) made landfall over British Columbia, Canada on Friday, October 18, 2024, dropping very heavy rain and leaving at least 2 people dead.
An unusually strong atmospheric river struck British Columbia and Alaska from September 22 to 24, 2024, bringing widespread precipitation and causing floods and landslides.
A landslide in Farwell Canyon, British Columbia, Canada on July 30, 2024, caused a large section of earth to collapse, creating a 1 000 m long (3 281 feet) debris mound that obstructed the Chilcotin River. As water pooled behind the blockage, authorities issued urgent flood warnings and evacuation orders.
Wildfires in northern Alberta prompted evacuations of three communities as the province contends with five significant blazes posing a severe threat to safety and infrastructure. Over 5 000 residents were affected, covering 62 000 ha (150 000 acres). Meanwhile, British Columbia is battling over 300 wildfires, exacerbated by a three-week heatwave. High temperatures and lightning have caused widespread evacuation orders, with firefighters struggling to contain the rapidly spreading flames across both provinces.
Multiple wildfires burning in British Columbia and Manitoba have forced thousands of people to evacuate and spread hazardous smoke into the northern United States, prompting air quality alerts.
The British Columbia wine industry is bracing for unprecedented crop losses due to an extreme cold event in January 2024, with preliminary estimates forecasting a production decrease of 97 – 99%, resulting in industry-wide revenue losses between $440 – 445 million.
