Flood Watch Issued For Peterborough And Surrounding Areas

Otonabee Conservation issued a flood watch on Friday for all bodies of water in the Otonabee Region watershed.

File Photo.

Affected areas include municipalities of Selwyn, Douro-Dummer, Asphodel-Norwood, Otonabee-South Monaghan, Cavan Monaghan, City of Kawartha Lakes, City of Peterborough and Trent Hills.

A strong cold front will make its way into Southern Ontario Friday, bringing warmer temperatures, rain and strong winds.

Temperatures will be above normal for this time of year with a high of 6 degrees C Friday and up to 13 degrees C on Saturday before dropping below zero Saturday night. Friday afternoon could see rainfall in the amounts of 10 to 15mm with an additional 10 to 20mm possible on Saturday.

With frozen ground conditions, the expected rainfall and potential heavy downpours, combined with warm temperatures and melting snow may cause minor flooding in low-lying areas.

As a minimum, water pooling on roads and in low-lying areas and higher than normal water levels and flows can be expected, especially in the vicinity of culverts and bridges. Higher than normal water levels and flows will continue throughout the weekend as the expected rainfall and snow melt flushes through our waterways.

Residents are advised to be extremely cautious around all local lakes, rivers, streams, and creeks because shorelines/riverbanks will be slippery and could be undercut, and currents will be strong. Road-side ditches, wetlands and other low-lying areas may experience unsafe ponding conditions. Dams and other water control/water conveyance structures are especially dangerous and should always be avoided.

This flood watch will expire Tuesday Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. unless otherwise stated.

Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com. Sign up for PTBOBuzz newsletter here.