WAWA — A section of Highway 17 south of Wawa was closed Wednesday afternoon due to heavy rainfall, and communities along parts of the north and eastern Superior shore could still be in for a fair bit more.
According to the province's Ontario 511 highway map, the closure stretched from just south of Wawa south to Montreal River. Ontario Provincial Police in Wawa said Wednesday afternoon there was no expected time for the highway to reopen.
The same section was closed a week prior, also due to flooding.
Environment Canada issued a rainfall warning on Wednesday for areas just east of Marathon and Biigtigong Nishnaabeg and extending past Wawa. The weather office said an additional 30 to 50 millimetres is expected on top of what’s already fallen, with some areas reporting up to 75 millimetres.
The next wave of rain is expected to be “intense,” coming in “torrential downpours,” the warning said.
“It will start to die down probably late evening in the, say, 7 to 9 p.m. timeframe, (and) won't be completely done until the early hours in the morning, probably closer to 4 or 5 a.m.,” said Steven Flisfeder, an Environment Canada meteorologist.
“So, the most intense period is going to be over the next several hours as thunderstorms continue to track through, so you will likely see some heavier amounts by tomorrow morning.”
The way the storm is behaving, Flisfeder said, means that not everywhere in the warning range is likely to see these amounts.
“That's not to say everybody is going to receive an additional 30 to 50 (millimetres),” he said. “Some areas may see less additional accumulation just because of the nature of these types of storms.”
“It's more intense in some areas than others, so it’s a potential of over 100 (millimetres), but it's not necessarily the case that those people will see 100.”
Further west along the North Shore, a fog advisory remained in effect for communities like Schreiber, Terrace Bay and Marathon.
“Areas of dense fog are expected to remain through tonight before lifting Thursday morning,” an updated alert issued just after 3 p.m. Wednesday said. “While visibility may improve at times this afternoon, it is expected to deteriorate again this evening.”
“Visibility may be significantly and suddenly reduced to near zero. Travel is expected to be hazardous due to reduced visibility in some locations.”
In those areas, Environment Canada warned travellers to be prepared for areas with “near-zero visibility.”
