Despite significant rainfall in parts of the province, the Alberta government isn’t reporting any major flooding events.
Water levels for all major rivers are ranging from normal to above normal and most rivers flowing out of the foothills have peaked or will be peaking soon.
The province said Wednesday it is monitoring water levels at the North Saskatchewan River around Highway 759 for the remainder of the day.
Lingering shower activity is possible in central and southern Alberta before the front moves out of the province on Wednesday evening.
Sections of provincial parks such as the Bow River Campground and Three Sisters Campground are closed due to unsafe weather conditions and localized flooding, and Albertans are asked to stay away from these areas.
A few highways are closed due to avalanche and flooding concerns, and motorists are asked to check for updates before they travel. There were no structural concerns at this time, said the province on Wednesday
“Flood advisories will be updated as the weather system moves through and the rivers begin to respond, or if impacts are reported,” said Lisa Jackson, executive director of Alberta Environment’s emergency management branch.
Rainfall warnings were dropped for the entire province on Wednesday morning, when Environment and Climate Change Canada said between 60 mm and 129mm of rain had fallen since Monday in different parts of Calgary and surrounding areas.
On Tuesday, strong winds and rain knocked power out to thousands of Calgarians. The windy conditions also led to downed trees around the city.
The Calgary Emergency Management Agency said on Wednesday the state of local emergency (SOLE) remained in effect for the city, even though weather conditions were starting to taper off.
While the Elbow River had reached peak flow, the Bow River was not expected to crest until sometime Wednesday afternoon.
A boat advisory remained in effect.
“While we received less precipitation than expected, we want to remind Calgarians to stay off the river and continue to exercise caution while the local state of emergency is in place,” said Calgary Emergency Management chief Sue Henry.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek said on Wednesday morning the state of emergency was declared out of an abundance of caution — a lesson learned after the devastating floods in 2013.
“The biggest lesson learned was to communicate early and to communicate often, so that’s what we did,” Gondek said.
“I’m thankful the weather event was not as severe as we thought it would be.”
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