A special weather statement is in effect for parts of central Ontario on Thursday morning with heavy rain in the forecast.
The special weather statement is in effect for communities northeast of Barrie up to just south of North Bay, as far west as Georgian Bay and as far east as the Quebec border.
Environment Canada is predicting between 30 and 40 millimetres of rain will fall in some areas, with higher amounts possible.
Monica Vaswani, a warning preparedness meteorologist at Environment Canada, said the storm system is expected to move further east throughout the day.
“We see reports in and around 50 millimetres for Barrie, but that also depends on how the thunderstorms there are to be expected in the special weather statement area because the low is tracking eastward and moving into Quebec,” she said.
The rain is expected to last from the morning into Thursday afternoon.
“Rain, at times heavy, will continue to spread across southern Ontario this morning and continue into the afternoon. Embedded thunderstorms are likely as well, with very high rainfall rates possible,” the weather agency said in a statement.
Over the next few days, Vaswani says the area is expected to see highs of 27 C in some cases, with rainfall to continue.
“With respect to the next couple of days, if we’re looking essentially at areas in and around the Georgian Bay region, we are expected to see unsettled conditions possibly over the next couple of days. We do have a risk of showers and thunderstorms almost every day in the forecast really for the weekend,” she said.
The weather agency warns that flooding may happen in some areas.
People concerned about the potential for flooding and check in with their local Conservation Authority on the Ministry of Natural Resources website.