Remnants of a tropical storm DebbieIt’s been moving up the US East Coast for about ten days, and a low pressure system moving in from the west could bring heavy rain to Ontario and southern Quebec for the rest of the week.
A tropical storm DebbieA storm has been wreaking havoc on the U.S. East Coast for several days, and Environment Canada has warned that heavy rain is expected to hit Ontario and southern Quebec throughout the week, according to a special weather report issued Wednesday.
Remnants of the storm, combined with a low pressure system from the west, could bring heavy rain to eastern Ontario Thursday evening into Friday. Rainfall may exceed 50 mm.
Heavy rain (50 to 100 mm in 24 hours) is also expected in southern Quebec between Friday and Saturday. “It will start in Montreal on Friday morning, then move towards Rimouski, Quebec, and reach Gaspé by the end of the afternoon,” underlines Nicolas Elder, a meteorologist at Environment Canada.
Heavy rain will occur on Friday evening and Friday through Saturday night. Some areas may receive more than 100 mm of rain.
A “complicated” scenario
However, “remnants of the tropical storm will interact with air pressure from the prairies, making precipitation forecasting more complicated,” warns Nicholas Elder. Hence there is uncertainty about projected maximum levels and the most strongly affected sectors.
Therefore forecast rainfall amounts may change in the coming hours and rainfall warnings may be issued as confidence in the forecast increases.
Heavy rains cause flash floods and waterlogged roads. Flooding is also likely in low-lying areas.
In New York, authorities are asking basement apartment dwellers to prepare to evacuate their homes as heavy rain is forecast. In less than four hours, up to 15 centimeters of rain fell in parts of New Jersey.
However, such measures are not considered “for now” for Quebec, Nicolas Elder pointed out.
With information from the Associated Press
