August 13, 2010
Flood Watch Issued for Lake Winnipeg Region
· Manitoba Water Stewardship has issued a flood watch for the Interlake and areas east of Lake Winnipeg including Fisher River, Arborg, Hecla, Gypsumville, Ashern, Poplar River, Little Grand Rapids and Bloodvein due to potential heavy rain this weekend.
· Unstable weather conditions are expected to intensify this evening and in the next two days.
· Environment Canada indicates that rainfall of 75 to 150 millimetres (2.3 to 5.9 inches) is possible tonight, tomorrow and Sunday in these areas. Thunderstorms with intense rain are possible.
· Storms yesterday and today have already resulted in wet or saturated soil and additional rain could result in significant run-off and flash flooding. There is a potential for significant increases in water level on a number of streams including Netley Creek and the Fisher and Bloodvein rivers.
· If the rainfall is significant, there is potential for these creeks to rise significantly in the next few days.
· Updates will be issued once more information becomes available regarding the rainfall intensities.
· More information can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/floodinfo/index.html.
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