THE COUNTIES, Ontario - A pair of conservation authorities with jurisdiction in the SDG Counties region have issued water safety statements as a result of a deluge of rain occuring Feb. 9 and 10.
Air temperature is expected to rise above freezing, triggering snowmelt. The snowpack is currently above normal for this time of year, and approximately equivalent to what would be expected at the end of a normal winter. In addition to the expected snowmelt, between 10 and 35 mm of rainfall is forecast for our region.
At this time flooding is not expected. Conditions are also expected to be less severe than those of the recent snowmelt and rainfall event of late December and early January. However, water levels and flows in rivers and streams will increase rapidly through the coming days.
Both the Raisin Region Conservation Authority (RRCA) and the South Nation Conservation (SNC) Authority have issued water safety statements in response.
Both encourage residents to prepare as they usually would for the arrival of spring, which includes taking extra caution near water bodies and securing items that may float away as water flows increase. Temperatures are forecast to return to well below freezing by the weekend, after which water levels and flows will quickly decrease. In the interim, weather forecast models disagree on whether air temperature will remain consistently above zero, or if there will be episodes of freezing weather that will slow snowmelt.