As Calgary and other communities near Alberta’s largest city continued to monitor for potential flooding due to heavy rain on Tuesday, so too were a number of municipalities west of Lethbridge in the deep south of the province.
On Tuesday afternoon, rainfall warnings remained in effect for parts of the Municipal District of Pincher Creek, Crowsnest Pass, the Blood Reserve, the Piikani Reserve, Waterton Lakes National Park and the Municipal District of Ranchland.
READ MORE: ‘A whole lot more’: Calgary braces for second day of heavy rainfall
According to the Environment Canada website, a “prolonged period of heavy rain will continue” with some areas bracing for the possibility of up to 70 millimetres of rainfall by Wednesday morning when the amount of rain is expected to diminish.
The weather agency warned people living in areas under a rainfall warning that heavy downpours can result in flash floods and water pooling on roads.
“Localized flooding in low-lying areas is possible,” Environment Canada said. “Watch for possible washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts.”
According to the Alberta government’s website on Tuesday afternoon, in the deep south of the province, high streamflow advisories remain in place for the Oldman River upstream of the Oldman Reservoir, the Waterton River upstream of the Waterton Reservoir, Willow Creek, the Oldman River downstream of the Oldman Reservoir to the Saskatchewan River confluence, the Waterton River mainstem from below the Waterton Reservoir to the Belly River and for the Belly River from the Waterton River confluence to the Oldman River.
Waterton Lake remained under a flood watch.
“Water level rises of between one and two metres are possible,” the government said about streamflow advisories in the area. The province said that for Waterton Lake, “an additional rise of 0.3 metres is possible over the next few days.”
“This is half-a-metre below the known infrastructure flood threshold.”
READ MORE: Some areas of southern Alberta bracing for heavy rainfall
In a post on its website Tuesday, Waterton Lakes National Park said “Parks Canada is closely monitoring water levels, weather conditions and forecasts and infrastructure status.”
“Water levels in the Waterton Lakes, Waterton River and Belly River are above average for this time of year,” park officials added. “So far the park has received lower levels of precipitation than forecast, and precipitation in the form of snow at higher elevations may moderate water level rise.”
The post added that water levels on Waterton Lake were expected to peak between Tuesday night and Wednesday night.
“There are no flood-related closures currently in place or planned at this time,” park officials said. “Currently there is minor flooding in low-lying, flood-prone areas along the shorelines of the Waterton Lakes.”
Officials said as of Tuesday afternoon, the national park had sustained about 35 mm of precipitation over 48 hours and noted rain that falls in the mountains can take 24 hours to impact the lake’s water levels.
Park officials added that above-average snowpack still remains due to cooler temperatures this spring.
For a complete list of areas in Alberta under a weather alert, click here.
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