Monday’s storm was officially epic

A man rides his bicycle during a flood on the Don Valley Parkway during Monday's rainstorm. Toronto got more rain in two hours Monday afternoon than it usually gets in all of July.

It is official: the epic rainfall in Toronto on Monday afternoon that drenched highways, had cars bobbing up and down in rainwater and overwhelmed 911 was an extreme weather event.

No, experts say, it wasn’t because of climate change. But yes, we will likely see more storms like it.

“This is likely the wettest moment in Toronto’s history,” David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, said on Monday evening while rain was still falling. “By the end, we may have a new all-time one-day record.”

More than 90 millimetres of rainfall was recorded at Pearson International Airport in just two hours, starting at about 4:30 p.m.

To put it in perspective, the wettest day in Toronto was Oct. 15, 1954, when Hurricane Hazel slammed the city and 121.4 millimetres of rainfall was recorded over the entire day.

The wettest July day in the city was July 28, 1980, when 118.5 millimetres of rain fell — again, over the entire day.

July usually gets about 75 millimetres of rain in the entire month.

That’s why Monday’s rainfall was epic.

“All of that rain, it fell in less than two hours,” Phillips said. “It’s just incredible.”

 

The Star has the full article

(Photo: Reuters)

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