Rainfall warnings in place for southern Saskatchewan

The skies could open up in southern Saskatchewan on Thursday.

Just after noon, Environment Canada issued a swath of rainfall warnings across the south of the province. The warnings stretch from Hodgeville in the west to the Manitoba border in the east.

Communities like Assiniboia, Coronach, Carlyle, Bienfait, Estevan, Weyburn and Radville were included in the warnings.

“A developing Colorado low is tracking north, bringing heavy rainfall to south central and southeast Saskatchewan beginning Thursday afternoon,” the alert said. “The precipitation will continue through Friday before tapering off Saturday.

“With widespread rainfall totals of 40 (to) 60 (millimetres) expected, and pockets of higher amounts expected, localized flooding will be possible.”

Areas in the southeast were battered by storms on Wednesday. A tornado warning was issued for the Moosomin area at one point in the afternoon before the storm moved into western Manitoba.

More information on Thursday’s warnings can be found on the Environment Canada alerts page.

An advisory warning of potential flooding was issued Thursday afternoon by the Water Security Agency (WSA).

(Water Security Agency/Submitted)

Areas south of Highway 1 from Coronach to the Manitoba border can expect between 40 and 60 millimetres of rain, the WSA said, with the areas closest to the U.S. border expected to be hit the hardest.

“Localized accumulations may approach 80 mm (approximately 3 inches) where imbedded thunderstorms result in heavier downpours,” the WSA said in a statement.

“There is the potential for localized flooding and high streamflow in areas where rainfall intensities and accumulations are highest. There is also an increased risk within areas where soil moisture levels remain high and storage available within wetlands is low following the melt of the April 19/20 snowfall event.

“This includes upper portions of the Souris River Basin from Rafferty Dam to Bechard and upper portions of the Long Creek Basin near Radville.”

The Boundary, Rafferty and Grant Devine reservoirs are at or near their full capacity, the WSA noted, but more flood storage is available at the Rafferty and Grant Devine reservoirs and the WSA said it’s prepared to use the extra room to keep flows down on the Souris River. The Boundary to Rafferty Diversion Channel will also be used to reduce the chances water has to be released from the Boundary Dam.

“As such, we are not expecting flows on the Souris River downstream of these dams to exceed channel capacities as a result of this event,” the WSA noted.

In the event a flood exceeds the capacity of local authorities, the WSA said the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency is available to help.

Anyone near bodies of water in the affected area was advised to take precautions, as flows can change quickly.