Rain on window (Photo by © Can Stock Photo / pzAxe)Rain on window (Photo by © Can Stock Photo / pzAxe)
London

UPDATE: Region May Break Records For Most Rainfall, Highest Temperatures

It looks like the region may smash a few weather records on Tuesday, as a system with warm, spring-like temperatures and heavy rainfall passes through Southwestern Ontario.

Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning for London, Chatham-Kent, and Windsor-Essex Tuesday morning. The warning ended for Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent around 5pm.

Warning Preparedness Meteorologist Geoff Coulson says out of the three areas, London has the best chance of breaking a rainfall record.

"Looking back at the record books for this date in history, the current record for the most rainfall in London is 28.8 mm set back in 2004," says Coulson. "The record in the Chatham-Kent area is 27.4 mm, set all the way back in 1891. The record for the Windsor area is 22.1 mm, set back in 1951."

According to Coulson, London is expected to get over 20 mm of rain over the course of the day on Tuesday. He says London would still be shy of the record, but that is the largest rainfall amount the weather agency is anticipating.

Coulson says the rainfall totals for Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent will fall somewhere between 10-15 mm.

"We're looking at some pretty incredible temperatures in all three locations today. 16 C is the forecast high for both Windsor and the Chatham-Kent areas. 15 C is the forecast high for London," says Coulson.

As of 7pm on Tuesday, Environment Canada reported that London has temperature risen to 15.1 C, which beats the previous high-temperature record of 12.2 C in 2016.

The current temperature records for Chatham-Kent and Windsor-Essex were also set in 2016. In CK the record sits at 15.5 C, and while in Windsor Essex it has previously reached 16.9 C.

Coulson says Tuesday's forecast is a continuation of the system that has been moving through the region the past day or so and producing heavy precipitation right across Southwestern Ontario.

"The big change with a return to temperatures a little bit closer to normal will happen with a passage of a cold front coming down during the day on Wednesday," he explains. "Rain should be ending in the area of Windsor, Chatham-Kent, and London around the noon hour on Wednesday."

Coulson expects the temperatures to fall on Wednesday, likely dropping to around 1 C. He says temperatures will be slightly above freezing for the rest of work week.

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