Storm Tracker

A number of roadways north of the Kenora by-pass are under water, but still passable.

The City of Kenora listed the following roads as under water but passable, Friday evening. (May 6, 2022)

• Essex Road at Hooterville - water over road but still passable.
• Essex Road at Miller Swamp north of School Road  - water over road but still passable.
• Coker Road east of Kelly Road  - water up onto shoulders but still passable.
• Lajeunesse  Bridge - water up to bottom of deck and up to both shoulders of road west side of the bridge.

The first weekend of May is going to start how the last weekend of April ended, as Environment Canada is forecasting more rain to hit northwestern Ontario starting Saturday night (May 7, 2022).

Environment Canada is tracking what they believe is not one, but two Colorado Lows to sweep through the region bringing with it anywhere from 25-50 mm of rain combined between the two systems.

Previous predictions saw Lake of the Woods ice-free around the May Long weekend, however, with updated forecasts, it could be gone by a sooner date.  

According to Kenora Ice Patrol's Tim Armstrong, changes to the forecast air temperatures could melt the ice days earlier than he originally predicted.  

Ontario burned through and exceeded its 2021 Emergency Fire Funds by $139 million in last year’s forest fire season.

“In the 2021 fire season the province of Ontario spent $239 million in Emergency Fire Funds to help manage the escalated wildland fire situation in the Northwest Region,” says MNRF Fire Information Officer, Chris Marchand.

Marchand notes this is the interim cost, and the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources, and Forestry will release the final cost in September.

A very wet spring has led to water levels on the Lake of the Woods, Winnipeg River, and numerous creeks and swamps in the area to rise significantly causing flooding concerns and washed out roadways. 

Since April 20, water levels on Lake of the Woods have risen by roughly 25”, while levels on the Winnipeg River have risen by about 67” since early April. The rise in levels has been driven by the area breaking numerous precipitation and snowfall records throughout the winter.

Water levels on Lake of the Woods are expected to rise by another foot or so today after more outflow increases were approved to bring down some extremely high water levels in the area.

The Lake of the Woods Control Board says inflows continue to be above the maximum outflow rate for the lake, causing water levels to rise to the top of the legislated operating range by the middle of the month.

The extremely high water levels on Lake of the Woods have led the Lake of the Woods Control Board (LWCB) to fully open the Norman Dam in Kenora by May 7, 2022.

Lake of the Woods and Winnipeg River water levels will continue to rise until inflow to Lake of the Woods falls below the outflow rate. The rate of rising will depend on rainfall in the coming weeks.

Officials from the LWCB say the lake is expected to rise towards the top of the legislated operating range (323.47 m or 1061.25 ft) by mid-May.

Some Kenora roadways are feeling the effects of one of the worst winters in over 60 years. Now that we are heading into spring and the over 300 cm of snow is starting to melt, a number of roadways in the area are being completely washed out.

The significant amount of snow has caused lake, river, creek, and swamp levels in the area to increase drastically in the last few weeks, giving the water now where to go expect over roadways, which then destroys the integrity of the road itself. 

Due to increasing lake, river, and creek levels, the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources, and Forestry is advising residents of a Watershed Conditions Statement - Flood Outlook that will be in effect until May 13, 2022.

They advise that residents in the Kenora, Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls, Dryden, Oxdrift, and surrounding areas exercise extreme caution around less travelled roads, bridges, water-crossings, lakes, and rivers. They say that water levels in these areas and in portions of the district are extremely high.

Environment Canada has confirmed that Kenora has broken a 61-year-old overall winter snowfall record.

This winter has been one for the ages, as the region was hit with triple the amount of snow it received the winter before.

“In terms of snowfall from September to June and counting in previous years the record was in 1961, 298.8 cm,” says Gerald Cheng, Environment Canada Meteorologist. “So far from September of 2021 up til now (May 2, 2022) already 305.8 cm, so it’s breaking the record already.”