Storm Tracker

As of 8:40 am Sunday, May 22:

Flooding on HWY 71 Northbound at Mayburn Road has closed one lane. Traffic control is in place.

Quibell Road is closed, between Hwy 647 and Hwy 609. No transports are allowed, Passenger vehicles only. Signage in place. Use extreme caution.

Blue Lake Loop Road to Quibell Road is restricted to local traffic due to flooding.

Highway 105, from Highway 17 to Highway 609, is fully closed due to water over the road.

Rising river and lake levels have prompted the province to declare a state of local emergency for Whiteshell Provincial Park.

It was also announced yesterday that the Betula Lake area will be closed.

Manitoba Parks has ordered the evacuation of Whiteshell Provincial Park’s Betula Lake area, including all cottage subdivisions, commercial area, group use, day use, recreational and picnic areas, playgrounds, trails and beaches.

A storm system Thursday through Friday dropped more rain across the waterlogged region.

Environment Canada says at the Kenora Airport, 22.5 mm of rain fell during the rainfall warning Thursday and Friday.

This brings the total rainfall in Kenora for May to 130.1 mm, well above the average monthly rainfall of 80.8 mm.

The rainfall record for May was set in 2007 when 215 mm of rain fell.

With 11 days left in the month, many are worried that the Kenora area will set back-to-back records for the wettest month of record.

As of 8:00 am Saturday, May 21:

Blue Lake Loop Road to Quibell Road is restricted to local traffic due to flooding.

Quibell Road is closed, between Hwy 647 and Hwy 609. No transports are allowed, Passenger vehicles only. Signage in place. Use extreme caution.

Highway 105, from Highway 17 to Highway 609, is fully closed due to water over the road.

Between Highway 647 and 609 are closed near Quibell Road to allow for repairs to the road. Traffic control is in place and no detour is available.

The Kenora District’s Flood Outlook has been upgraded to a Flood Warning by the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources, and Forestry, and will be in effect until June 3, 2022.

The ministry’s definition of a Flood Warning is: flooding is imminent or occurring within specific watercourses and municipalities.

Earlier this month, the City of Kenora issued an evacuation order to residents living along a number of roads north of the Kenora by-pass.

Floodwaters overtook low-lying roadways and residents had a tough choice to make.

Stay in their homes and be cut off from town or leave their homes behind to stay with family, friends or at the Evacuation Centre set up at the Kenora Recreation Centre.

The City of Kenora has confirmed that the continuous rain on Friday (May 20, 2022), is not stopping roadway work on the East Melick and Essex Road intersection.

While much of the region is dealing with rain, residents along Highway 105 are dealing with a spring snowstorm.

This photo was taken by Lesley Bailey, north of Ear Falls around 10 am, who says Highway 105 is slushy and slippery.

The rain and wet snow is expected to end Friday afternoon, before a warmer and dryer May long weekend.

A late-season frost advisory has been issued for northwestern Ontario as the mercury is set to hover near the freezing mark overnight Friday.

Environment Canada says patchy frost is expected tonight into Saturday morning.

Resident should cover up plants, especially those in frost-prone areas.

The overnight low for Kenora, Dryden, and Vermilion is plus 1, while the Sioux Lookout area will dip down to minus 1, before temperatures return to normal towards the end of the May long weekend.

As of 7:45 am Friday, May 20:

The City of Kenora is set to resume work on the East Melick Road and Essex Road intersection to lay a top surface to build up the road and open it. 

As early as Friday, May 20th evening, residents who live along East Melick Road between the Portier bridge and the Essex Road intersection (this includes Victoria Crescent, Decemvir Dr, Bell Point Road, and Aube Dr) should have access back to their homes.