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Some captured screenshots of Lloydminster's flooding Sunday. (Facebook/Samantha Johnston-Your Lloydminster, and Lois Tatro)
Wild weather

Lloydminster deals with impact from flooding

Jun 26, 2023 | 1:11 PM

It’s sump pump and dehumidifier time in Lloydminster as residents deal with the clean up today following yesterday’s flooding.

Some Lloydminster area residents took photos of the flooding they experienced. One commented on Facebook she saw people’s recycling “floating past our house” on 65th Avenue.

Terri Lang, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said it’s not unusual for the community to receive heavy rainfall at this time of the year.

“A thunderstorm went through, and it seemed like it was stuck over the area for a bit,” she added. “That allowed from some pretty heavy precipitation to accumulate through the Lloydminster area.”

The storm brought with it a total of 30.9 millimetres of precipitation on June 25. Between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., 18.5 millimetres of rain hit the border city. Then, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. another 11.2 millimetres more came down.

“That’s quite a bit of rain. Most of the city is paved over. When you get that much rain in that short of a time, it has nowhere to go. And [the city’s] quite flat, so that’s why everything floods,” Lang said.

In the surrounding area in the north-west region of the province, Prince Albert was hit by heavy flooding and hail, and the area north-west of Richard saw some golf ball sized hail and heavy rain reported.

To protect property in the event of flooding, Lang recommends people make sure the drainage catch basins on their street are clear of debris, and ensure the downspouts of their eavestroughs are pointed away from their house, and towards the street.

Looking at historical records, Lloydminster received a whopping 98.9 millimetres of rain on Aug. 24, 2005, and 56.0 mm on June 25, 2007.

Lang said this is thunderstorm time. So, it’s essentially “hit and miss, who wins the lottery with these things,” as to how a community will be impacted.

“It’s storm season, so nobody should be surprised by any of these thunderstorms. Everybody should be prepared,” she added.

Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow

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