Toronto is under a rainfall warning with Environment Canada calling for up to 60 millimetres of rainfall in some parts of the city by this evening.
The weather agency says that nearly 35 millimetres of rain has already been reported so far today. It says that an additional 20 millimetres of rain is expected in areas east of the Don Valley Parkway before the rainfall begins to taper off later this evening.
Lighter rain, however, is expected to continue until late Friday afternoon.
“Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Localized flooding in low-lying areas is possible. Watch for possible washouts near rivers, creeks and culverts,” the rainfall warning states.
The rainfall warning comes as Toronto continues to experience a stretch of unseasonably cold and rainy May weather, with the daytime high not expected to surpass 11 C. on Thursday.
In an interview earlier in the day, Environment Canada’s David Phillips told CP24 that the city usually sees daytime highs of around 21 C at this time of year but has been thrust into “May misery” with nearly a week of temperatures that have barely hit double digits.
Today’s daytime high represents the coldest May 22 in Toronto in nearly two decades and is a stark contrast to last May 22 when the mercury soared to 30 C, Phillips pointed out.
“I call it May misery. It is low pressure area stuck south of us and while it has worn out its welcome, it has stalled and is just inching along,” Phillips said. “It is warmer up in the Northwest Territories than it is in Toronto. I mean, come on.”
Environment Canada says the city could also see between 10 and 15 millimetres of rain today. A similar amount of rainfall is in the forecast on Friday, which will see the temperature rise to just 12 C.
Phillips said that while rain is common in May, it has been particularly unforgiving this week with about 23 of the last 24 hours having some level of precipitation.
“This should be maybe jacket weather or sweater weather but it is jacket and sweater weather together,” he said. “The only good thing is that about a third of Mays we get snow in Toronto. There is no snow here. We haven’t even had a frost day but we are just stuck in the middle with the same monotonous kind of weather day after day and we are getting kind of fed up with it.”
The weather will improve only slightly on Saturday, which will see a high of 15 C and a 30 per cent of showers.
The temperature will inch closer to the seasonal norm on Sunday and Monday, when sunshine returns and the daytime high rises to 18 C on each day respectively.
Phillips said that while the cooler days may be discouraging for some, he is still anticipating that Toronto will have a warmer than normal summer.
He says that residents just may have to wait until June for better weather.
“Here is my forecast. About two weeks from now Torontonians will be complaining about the heat and humidity,” he said.
