Most people use maps on a regular basis for a variety of purposes. Those of us interested in river systems typically rely on this aerial, two-dimensional perspective in a professional or recreational context. While maps represent extremely useful tools to locate streams, lakes and glaciers, they lack information about the third dimension: elevation. Hydrodynamic models…Continue Reading An alternative perspective on river systems of Yukon

The spring of 2023 has not been gentle on properties and infrastructure located in the Tr’ondëk (Klondike River) floodplain. Severe ice jams caused significant damage between May 7 and May 14. This was followed by a record (since 1970) high flow late on May 24. Factors that led to severe ice jamming at Henderson Corner,…Continue Reading Tr’ondëk (Klondike River) floods: Are we done yet?

There is a belief across the North that a delayed spring leads to severe ice jams and spring flooding. Afterall, the spring of 2013, one of the coldest in recent history, was followed by severe ice jams in several Yukon communities. It is true that temperatures cannot remain below average forever, and what people fear…Continue Reading What a delayed spring means for river ice breakup

The Climate Change Research – Hydrology group visited several monitoring sites located along the Dempster Highway and Silver Trail in February. The research project, supported by Transport Canada (Government of Canada) and the Department of Highways and Public Works (Government of Yukon), started in the fall of 2022 with the deployment of remote instruments at…Continue Reading Little ice, big consequences: research on icing along highways of Yukon

Each time a new climate record is broken, climate researchers are left wondering “was this because of our uncontrolled emission of greenhouse gasses?”  We rarely know for sure.  While a single extreme may be consistent with what was anticipated, specific “attribution” studies are required to determine the contribution of anthropogenic forcing to a given extreme…Continue Reading Significant hydrological events of 2022 in Yukon – the age of extremes

Water levels in the Marsh-Tagish-Bennett Lakes system peaked on August 27 at a level that is only 0.6 m lower than in 2021 and 0.4 m lower than during the flood of 2007. More specifically, 2022 is only a few millimeters below the 3rd highest level on record since 1970. Also of interest is that Áa Tlein (Atlin Lake;…Continue Reading What Yukon’s Southern Lakes are telling us

The timing and intensity of river ice breakup depends on multiple factors driven by hydrological and meteorological conditions. Breakup may start gradually but can end with a significant ice jam flood. In turn, there are years where most ingredients are gathered for high water levels at breakup, yet Nature decides otherwise, and water levels remain low….Continue Reading Pac-Man and Bluefish breakup events in 2022

For years now, we have been witnessing the occurrence of weather extremes. In 2021, unprecedented hot weather, droughts, and floods affected different regions of Canada, including Yukon. A couple of years before, in the spring of 2019, a very thin snowpack was reported in central and southern Yukon. This spring, several areas of Yukon have…Continue Reading 2022 Yukon flood perspective aligns with climate projections

Snow Water Equivalent (SWE, amount of water contained in the snowpack) at Whitehorse airport is nearing it’s peak for Winter 2022.  While the snowpack can vary significantly from year to year, the graph above shows that there is an overall rising trend in SWE since 1966. The year-to-year variability also tends to increase, with a…Continue Reading Climate change, flood resilience, and the 2022 snowmelt season in Yukon

Outdoor lovers have noticed that the ice cover in Chasàn Chùa (McIntyre Creek) close to Yukon University Ayamdigut Campus can change very quickly during the first half of winter and can also present significantly different aspects from one observation point to the next during any given day. This ice cover often seems chaotic compared to…Continue Reading Intriguing ice cover on Chasàn Chùa (McIntyre Creek)