Heaviest of rain failling already, here's where it goes next
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Thursday, May 25, 2017, 7:08 AM - Thursday is a soaker of a day in southern Ontario, and substantially cooler than Wednesday.
The rain was already coming down strongly as the day dawned, after beginning overnight, with plenty of wet roads ahead for the drive into work.
"The heaviest rain for the Greater Toronto Area will coincide with the morning commute, while Ottawa won't see the rain until later in the morning," says Weather Network meteorologist Kevin MacKay.
Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for the Golden Horseshoe and surrounding areas early Thursday morning.
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In terms of rainfall amounts, 25-35 mm can be expected for much of the GTA and southern Ontario, with 10-15 mm through Cottage Country and the Nickel Belt.
Lingering showers will remain in eastern Ontario into the afternoon, with 5-15 mm likely for the Ottawa Valley.
Winds will also be stiff, gusting between 40-60 km/h, and forecasters are warning the winds may combine with record-high water levels on Lake Ontario to make for a fair bit of lakeshore erosion in unprotected areas, though winds ease by the evening.
"Winds will do a 180 for Friday, allowing temperatures to return to seasonal as conditions clear and give way to a fair Saturday, with temperatures just shy of seasonal," MacKay says.
A Look Ahead: Long-Range Forecast
According to The Weather Network's Dr. Doug Gillham, Saturday will be the best day of the weekend for most of southern Ontario.
"[We] can’t rule out an isolated shower, but it will be mostly rain-free, though more unsettled for the north," he says. "Eastern Ontario and southern Quebec look great right through the weekend, though the next system brings another round of showers and thunderstorms that will spread into southern Ontario during Sunday."
As for next week, Gillham says near to below-seasonal temperatures will dominate with northwest flow aloft into the region, making for some unsettled weather.
"Not a widespread soaker like we will see [Thursday,] but occasional showers through the middle of the week, with some sun at times in between showers," Gillham says.
