Wind, watches and a whole lot of water to wrap up workweek

Weather statements and flood watches were put in place for Waterloo Region on Friday as heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong wind gusts blew into the area.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement early Jan. 9 calling for the risk of thunderstorms, with wind gusts up to 90 km/h.

The weather authority expected the winds to calm down by the afternoon and into the evening. The heavy rain, however, is set to continue into the weekend with a flood watch issued for parts of the Grand River Watershed.

The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is stressing that anyone venturing out in the rain should avoid waterways and keep a close eye on small children and pets.

In New Hamburg and Ayr, the GRCA said runoff from potential snowmelt could be an issue, and localized flooding is possible.

“Higher flows in local waterways combined with runoff from this event will increase the risk of flooding in low-lying areas typically prone to flooding. Additionally, as ice breaks up and moves through the river there is a risk of ice jam formation which may rapidly increase water levels and lead to local flooding,” read the alert.

A flood watch is still in effect for the Grand River in Brantford, Brant County, Six Nations, Cayuga, Caledonia and Dunnville.

The GRCA added that 10-15 mm of rain is possible on Friday, with temperatures then expected to dip near freezing by Saturday.

Allister Aalders, 570 NewsRadio Meteorologist, said Saturday could get messy after a very wet wrap-up to the workweek.

“Another system is rolling into Waterloo Region late Saturday with a snow, rain mix. And then flurries and periods of light snow behind that system for Sunday.”

That system could extend a snow event even further in Cambridge. A snow event issued Monday is now into it’s fifth day.

There are no other snow events in place in Waterloo Region as of Friday morning.

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