Heavy rains lead to flooded underpass, park closures

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This article was published 31/05/2022 (1220 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s second-wettest spring in recorded history continues with heavy rain and high winds today.

Extreme wet weather is pummelling southern Manitoba, and is forecast to continue until evening.

Heavy rains have flooded the McPhillips Street underpass, closing it to traffic Tuesday morning. Abandoned vehicles were submerged at the bottom of the underpass just north of Logan Avenue. Some residents reported fallen trees or large fallen branches to the City of Winnipeg during the rainstorm.

Many areas across southern Manitoba have already experienced 30 to 50 mm of rainfall in the latest deluge, but an additional 20 to 30 mm of rain is expected Tuesday, according to Environment Canada’s rainfall warning.

The federal agency warned flooding is possible in low-lying areas and north winds are gusting up to 80 and 90 km/h, “making outdoor activities unsafe.”

The heavy rain is expected to end by Tuesday evening.

Businesses and property owners across the province have been hammered by the wet weather.

The provincial government has also closed more parks and campgrounds on the shores of Dauphin Lake, Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba and Lake of the Woods due to flooding and strong winds.

As of early Monday — before rain again began to fall — Winnipeg had already logged more precipitation since March 1 than it had in the same time period in the past 150 years. This year has marked the second-wettest spring in recorded history.

Other records have included March 1-May 31, meaning there’s a possibility Winnipeg’s level of precipitation (246.9 mm) may beat the all-time record of 325.4 mm set in 1896.