including some river islands, provide habitat for wildlife such as moose, deer, bear, coyotes, bats, reptiles, birds and numerous fish species. Maintaining natural areas in the river valley and limiting use to suitable recreational use has minimized impacts to wildlife habitat. Historically, the town has been the subject of flooding. However, the town has developed a continuous dike system to prevent flood damage from to 1:100 year flood events and protect against ice-jam floods. As a result, the risk of flooding has been significantly reduced and no longer poses the same threat to the town. Climate The Peace River area is generally characterized by a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with low year-round precipitation. Its dry climate results in reduced humidity throughout the year. Moisture coming with Pacific Ocean air is lost over the mountain ranges as precipitation before moving into the area, while air from the Arctic flows uninterrupted into the region. Due to cold air drainage, the river valley is often completely filled with stratus and fog while outside the valley is clear. The fog usually clears in a few hours. Winds in town are channeled along the Peace River valley (towards the northeast or southwest) while winds outside the valley are quite variable. During both summer and winter, the wind patterns outside the valley are mostly from the southwest or north. The passage of a migratory low to the north of Peace River will cause southwest winds to shift around to the north. Winters are often cold enough to see the formation of an ice cover on the Peace River from January to late March or early April. The ice cover is composed of juxtaposed frazil ice pans and break-away border ice pieces that consolidate in the river flow direction. This produces a very jagged surface. The formation of ice cover results in a gradual increase in river water levels in town and is monitored by both Alberta Environment and BC Hydro. BC Hydro operates two hydroelectric dams on the Peace River in British Columbia: the W. A. C. Bennett Dam and Peace Canyon Dam. These dams have significant effect on the Peace River's water levels. Summer frequently features thunderstorms that are preceded with persistent winds and occasionally produce small grain-sized hail. Tornadoes and severe winds are a rarity in the Peace River area, although it is suspected that Grimshaw, a town 20 kilometres to