Environment Canada has issued a Rainfall Warning for Midwestern Ontario, with upwards of 70 mm of rainfall expected by the weekend.
The rain will spread into southwestern Ontario Thursday, and is expected to persist throughout Saturday.
Water levels are already elevated due to recent rain and that creates the potential for flooding due to already saturated ground.
The Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority has issued a Flood Watch for the watershed. Flooding is expected in traditional flood prone low lying areas along the Saugeen, Pine and Penetangore Rivers, along with the Lake Huron fringe watersheds.
So far the area has received up to 89 mm of rain in the past week, saturating the ground and leaving watercourses bank full. More rain in the next three days will cause a rapid rise in water levels.
Municipal public works staff are being asked to monitor road conditions for possible flooding.
There is a new Watershed Conditions Statement today from the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority Flood Forecast Centre.
Significant rain is expected across the Maitland and Nine Mile River watersheds over the next 36 hours. Current forecasts are predicting 50 to 80 millimeters.
Ground conditions are already saturated because of heavy rain Sunday and Monday. Bank-full conditions are expected and flooding may occur in low-lying areas.
Maitland Conservation reports that average rainfall for the month of May in the watershed is 87 millimeters. If predicted rain amounts materialize, we will be close to that average only 6 days into the month. April precipitation was 20 per cent above average.
