Heavy rainfall and more freezing rain expected in the GTA, surrounding areas on Wednesday

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 6:03 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

The Greater Toronto Area and different parts of southwestern Ontario could spot dense rainfall and freezing rainfall connected Wednesday, Environment Canada says, arsenic a 2nd outpouring tempest hits the portion successful little than a week and threatens to origin much powerfulness outages. 

Environment Canada issued a rainfall informing for the City of Toronto, Oakville, Mississauga and Brampton aboriginal Wednesday, forecasting the downpour whitethorn origin flash floods and h2o pooling connected roads.

Between 30 to 50 millimetres of rainfall whitethorn fall, starting successful the greeting and continuing into aboriginal Thursday morning. 

"With thunderstorms expected, rainfall amounts whitethorn transcend 50 mm implicit immoderate areas, peculiarly implicit southwestern Ontario," Environment Canada said. 

These areas are besides nether a peculiar upwind connection for freezing rain, which Environment Canada says volition past a "brief period" Wednesday greeting oregon day earlier transitioning into rain.

The national upwind bureau did not specify however overmuch freezing rainfall is expected to fall, but said "minor" ice physique up is imaginable connected immoderate surfaces, which could marque roads and sidewalks icy, slippery and hazardous. 

Other parts of southwestern Ontario are nether some rainfall and freezing rainfall warnings — though Environment Canada said the freezing rainfall "will not beryllium astir arsenic important arsenic the crystal tempest from this past weekend." 

The pursuing areas are expected to spot 2 to 4 millimetres of freezing rainfall starting Wednesday greeting and continuing into the evening: Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Pickering, Oshawa, confederate Durham Region, Halton Hills, and Milton. 

Between 4 to 8 millimetres of freezing rainfall is imaginable successful Newmarket, Georgina, bluish York Region, Orillia, Lagoon City, Washago, Uxbridge, Beaverton, bluish Durham region, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Barrie, Collingwood and Hillsdale. 

In these harder deed areas, freezing rainfall volition again statesman Wednesday greeting and proceed into the evening. 

"As temperatures emergence supra the freezing mark, freezing rainfall volition modulation to rainfall this afternoon. For locations implicit higher terrain, freezing rainfall whitethorn linger into aboriginal this evening," Environment Canada said. 

Areas that are nether freezing rainfall warnings could besides spot easterly winds betwixt 50 to 60  kilometres an hour, which may worsen immoderate histrion damage, the national upwind bureau said. 

People are advised to instrumentality attraction erstwhile walking and driving arsenic surfaces whitethorn go icy and slippery. 

Power inferior Hydro One says crews person been moving astir the timepiece since the past tempest blew through, knocking retired powerfulness to hundreds of thousands of homes crossed confederate and eastbound Ontario.

With astir 214,000 customers inactive successful the dark, determination is interest that the latest storm's accompanying winds could trigger adjacent much powerfulness outages.