Another soggy day in the forecast, rainfall warning for cottage country
Posted May 1, 2019 8:36 am.
Last Updated May 1, 2019 12:14 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Communities in cottage country north of Toronto braced for another soggy day on Wednesday, as Environment Canada issued weather alerts for a swath of the province that’s already dealt with a week of flooding.
The Muskoka region, which includes the hard-hit communities of Bracebridge and Huntsville, was under a rainfall warning with up to 40 millimetres expected to fall in some areas.
The warning posted on Environment Canada’s website notes that “the ground, already near saturation, has little ability to absorb further rainfall.”
Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith says in a tweet that while water levels have come down since the weekend, they are still above those last seen in 2013, when the region saw its worst flooding in a century.
Freezing rain warnings and special weather statements have also been issued for a stretch of flood-hit areas stretching from the Bruce Peninsula into western Quebec.
Meantime, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority has issued a shoreline hazard warning for Lake Ontario, urging people in the Greater Toronto Area to use caution along the waterfront.
“All shorelines, rivers and streams within the GTA should be considered hazardous,” the TRCA said in a statement Tuesday night, warning that properties along the shore and on the Toronto Islands could experience flooding.
The islands were closed to the public for nearly three months in 2017 due to flooding that caused Lake Ontario to reach record highs.
The TRCA statement warns that water levels on Lake Ontario are approaching the heights reached in 2017, and are expected to continue rising until late May or early June.
Related stories:
Shoreline hazard warning in effect for Lake Ontario as water levels rise
Water levels begin to stabilize in cottage country, but more rain on the way
