GTA narrowly escapes potentially disastrous flood, 250+ mm reported nearby
After an unusually dry couple of months, parts of Ontario are certainly making up for lost time with rounds of slow-moving thunderstorms and heavy, flooding rains.
While not consistent across the board, localized flooding was reported in both Brampton and Barrie over the weekend with 120+ mm of rain that fell, and even some radar estimates of over 150 mm locally.
Between both Saturday and Sunday, as much as 250+ mm of rain was recorded in some places just north of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), while others barely saw anything at all.
"These thunderstorms can be so localized, but we are teetering with devastation when they track through the GTA like they have," says Tyler Hamilton, a meteorologist at The Weather Network. "Just like on July 8, 2013, when we had over 130 mm of rainfall just east of Pearson International Airport."
MUST SEE: Recalling the historically bad commute when the GTA flooded in 2013
High moisture in the atmosphere, light winds aloft and lake breeze boundaries are the ingredients to watch out for, especially with dying thunderstorms as they shift and move over urban areas.
"That's when a billion-dollar disaster looms," Hamilton says.
WATCH: The Greater Toronto Area narrowly escaped a billion dollar flood this weekend
Monday was no different in terms of the thunderstorm threat and locally heavy rain, with more downpours and flash flooding recorded. Storms that popped up Monday afternoon were once again slow-moving, which kept the threat for heavy rain over the same region for a longer period of time compared to normal.
Rainfall warnings were in effect through the evening hours for the Halton and Hamilton regions, with an area of potent storms moving from Horby to north Burlington. Near 50 mm of rain fell in just a short period of time.
See below for a look at the rain and thunderstorm impacts over the past few days:
Courtesy: James McColl - Auden Park, Ont.
Thumbnail image courtesy: Cynthia McLeod/Twitter
