People sit in the grandstands of Woodbine Racetrack after a heavy downpour of rain resulted in the cancellation of part of the King's Plate, in Toronto on Saturday, August 17, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov
TORONTO – Residents of southern Ontario could be in for a wet and rainy Sunday after a record-setting rainfall a day earlier.
Environment Canada says a heavy rainfall warning is still in effect for a region that includes the Greater Toronto Area, with more than 100 millimetres of precipitation expected in some areas.
Environment Canada says the rain comes after Saturday’s downpour saw 128.3 millimetres fall at Toronto Pearson Airport.
That tops the 2013 record of 126 millimetres recorded at the airport, which is on tap for its rainiest summer ever.
Environment Canada Meteorologist Trudy Kidd said seasonal data isn’t always complete, but available numbers already make the outcome clear.
The previous record for summer rainfall stood at 396.2 millimetres, but Kidd says the airport has already seen 475.7 millimetres this season.
“It’s fair to say that this has been a record breaking season,” she said.
The weekend rain in the region is part of a larger storm system that wreaked havoc in southern Ontario on Saturday.
The rain triggered numerous road closures in the Toronto area and stranded several vehicles in deep water, Toronto police said.
Toronto Pearson Airport said airlines are still recovering from Saturday’s storms, flights delayed and terminals bustling with carry over passengers from the day before. The Greater Toronto Airports Authority is urging anyone with Sunday travel plans to check their flight status before leaving home.
Rain wasn’t the only extreme weather to hit the region. A tornado touched down Saturday morning in the community of Ayr, Ont., about 115 kilometres southwest of Toronto.
Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project confirmed the twister touched down around 11 a.m., bringing with it winds that reached 165 kilometres an hour.
The project’s executive director, David Sills, says his teams are still assessing the size of the storm.
“We’ve got trees down in every direction possible,” Sills said, but noted “this one was on the weak side.”
Southern and southwestern Ontario are not the only parts of the province dealing with powerful winds and stormy weather.
Hydro One says about 11,400 customers are without power in the Parry Sound region because of extreme weather.
Environment Canada’s heavy rainfall warning also stretches as far as the North Bay area.
Up to 25 millimetres of rain is expected in the region through Sunday, with winds gusting up to 60 kilometres an hour throughout the day.
The showers and thunderstorms are forecast to taper off by Monday afternoon and become isolated showers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2024.
