Flood watches span southern Ontario as rainy, warmer pattern looms
Get your umbrella handy! Rain and unseasonably warm temperatures are on deck.
It's been quite the year, and it looks like for some people in Ontario and Quebec, 2022 will end on a rainy note.
Temperatures rise and set the scene for rain
Daily highs for Friday are forecast to climb above freezing for sections of Ontario. Sault Ste Marie, Ottawa, Windsor, and communities in between saw a high around the 5-degree mark Thursday, but even warmer temperatures will arrive Friday. This is noteworthy, given the seasonal high for this time of year in Toronto is around -1°C, and a stark contrast to the chilly conditions seen just a few days ago.
A system accompanying the warm weather could bring as much as 30-40 mm of rain for southwestern Ontario, up to 25 mm for the GTA, and 10-20 mm along Lake Superior's eastern shores and in Georgian Bay, says Weather Network meteorologist Matt Grinter.
Northwestern Ontario could see less than 5 mm, while Montreal may see upwards of 30 mm. The rain is expected to start early Friday in some places, stretching across the affected area through the day and into Saturday evening.
Widespread flood watches have been issued for all of southern Ontario ahead of the warmup and rainfall.
"The recent blizzard has resulted in an average accumulation of 5-10 cm of snow across the central, north, and west portions of the watershed and approximately 15-30 cm of snow along the southern watershed from Haldimand County to Fort Erie," reads an excerpt from the flood watch.
"The current forecast is calling for temperatures to remain above the freezing mark for at least the next six days which will result in significant snow melt ... this rainfall combined with snow melting over saturated or frozen ground can cause significant runoff to be directed into local ditches, watercourses, and storm sewer systems."
"Areas that saw anywhere from 60-150 cm of snow with the blizzard and lake effect will also be seeing rain, so clearing storm drains and roofs - as long as safe to do so - will help with drainage and snow load."
