Spring flood in Canada on a satellite photo

In the spring, melting snow, combined with heavy rainfall, can lead to a dangerous flood in New Brunswick, a coastal province on the east coast of Canada. In April and May 2018, a combination of conditions led to a historic flood on the St. John River. 

With the help of the main set of OLI tools on the NASA satellite, Landsat 8 was able to observe the river left from the banks on May 2, 2018. The second image shows the same area in more typical conditions on May 12, 2016. Both images have a false color, which makes floodwater dark blue, and the vegetation is bright green.
When this flood image was obtained, the water level near Fredericton stabilized at 8.12 meters, which significantly exceeds the 6.5-meter-specific level for this part of the river. Meanwhile, the water level in the river continues to rise. This year, at the end of April, the temperature rose very quickly, reflecting the melting of the “heavy” snow cover formed at the end of the season. As a result, the rivers were filled with meltwater. The water levels in some parts of the river were comparable to or even exceeded the levels measured during the spring flood of 2008 – this flood is considered the largest for the region since 1973. Intereno, that the province of New Brunswick keeps the history of records of spring floods since 1696.