Rainfall warning for Kingston, Brockville, Belleville and Smith Falls

Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for Kingston, Belleville, Brockville and Smith Falls. Rainfall amounts of 25 to 40 millimetres are expected to accumulate by Wednesday.

The rapidly melting snow on the ground will not help the conditions either.

“Twenty to 30 millimetres of rain would be nothing at all, but if your ground was frozen in the winter, that’s a whole lot because the ground doesn’t absorb it,” says CKWS weather anchor Bill Hall.

Because the ground can’t absorb the water, the melting snow eventually flows to the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario.

“Some of those low lying areas, some of those basements that are prone to it, those sump pumps are going to get a good workout and you should keep an eye out. Mother Nature can always throw us a curve ball,” says Hall.

Frontenac Islands mayor Denis Doyle says “If we get 25 to 30 millimetres, it won’t impact us very much, because the water is still very low in comparison to last spring when we had the flooding.”

The Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority (CRCA) had already released a watershed conditions statement on Friday.

“Be aware of your conditions, stay away from steep banks, and fast-flowing water. There could be ice-jam constrictions so you want to be aware of that,” says Krista Fazackerley, supervisor of communications and education at CRCA.

So should we prepare to see flooding in Kingston and surrounding areas?

“We’re not looking at any widespread flooding at all. Maybe some localized flooding in the low lying areas,” says Fazackerley.

The low pressure system that is bringing us this rainfall is expected to last until Tuesday, but showers can continue to linger into Wednesday.