Not done yet: Multi-day rain event spans weekend in Ontario

Saturday, May 6, 2017, 9:15 AM - After two days of downpours, the heaviest of the rain is over in southern and southwestern Ontario.

When all was said and done, Toronto picked up 52 mm of rain, 55 mm in Hamilton, 48 mm in Windsor and 67 mm in Trenton.

Showers will continue on and off through Saturday, however, with the heaviest rains in eastern Ontario, where rainfall warnings were still in effect Saturday morning.

"Rain is forecast to persist through today as a moisture laden low pressure area slowly moves from New York State across Eastern Ontario today then into Southern Quebec tonight," Environment Canada says. "The rain will be heaviest this morning, further rainfall amounts of 10 to 20 mm are expected today before the rain finally starts to taper off to a few showers tonight."

Quick Facts:

• Heaviest rains persist the longest in eastern Ontario Saturday into Sunday, showers elsewhere.
• Wet flurries make an appearance across the region late weekend. More on that, here
• With the ground already saturated from days of rain and showers, many watersheds have issued water level statements, flood watches and flood warnings

KEEP ON TOP OF ACTIVE WEATHER: Visit the Alerts section of the website

All this rain has come at a time when the ground was already saturated from previous downpours, limiting its ability to absorb further rainfall. 

As a result, conservation authorities across the south of the province issued flood watches or warnings. Making things even more difficult was the fact that water levels on Lake Ontario are uncommonly high, making coastal flooding also likely.

In Toronto, residents of Toronto Island sandbagged the shoreline, while ferry access was restricted to locals and emergency personnel. 

However, no evacuation took place and, citywide, talk of shutting down the flood-prone Don Valley Parkway ahead of the Friday evening commute did not result in any closure after all.

Pro tips: Bryan Baeumler on how to avoid flooding in your home

The flooding is more serious in Quebec, which has been dealing with flood emergencies for weeks in dozens of communities, and eastern Ontario, where communities in the Ottawa Valley are struggling.

Clarence-Rockland and Cumberland declared a state of emergency late Thursday as rivers burst their banks, while in Gatineau, more than 300 people were forced to flee their homes, and 160,000 sandbags were deployed, according to the Ottawa Citizen. 

In the capital itself, no state of emergency has been declared as of yet, but flooding has closed some roads and affected around 75 properties, the Citizen says.

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