Edmonton records its rainiest June ever following latest weekend downpour: Environment Canada

Edmonton records its rainiest June ever following latest weekend downpour: Environment Canada

Meteorologist says this is second wettest month Edmonton has ever seen

If you feel like this has been the wettest June in Edmonton that you can remember — it turns out you’re definitely right.

The city has received more rain this month than any previously recorded June, according to Brian Proctor, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

As of Sunday at noon, Edmonton had received 262 millimetres of rain, shattering the previous monthly record held for over a century, Proctor said.

“The wettest June previously was 217 mm in 1914, and we are way above that at this point,” Proctor said in an interview with CBC News on Monday.

Another Environment Canada meteorologist, Janelle Gergely, said Edmonton has seen more than triple the rainfall it usually gets this month, with the historical average for June sitting at less than 79 mm.

The record was broken after Edmonton endured another wet weekend with 57 mm of rain between Friday evening and 7 a.m. Monday, according to Environment Canada data.

Edmonton, central Alberta expected to get drenched with up to 70 mm of rain

The city is also closing in on the record for the most rain ever recorded in a single month.

Proctor noted that with more showers forecast for the city leading into the July long weekend, Edmonton is on track to break the all-time monthly rainfall record.

“This is probably, I think, the second wettest month we’ve ever seen,” he said.

Proctor said the wettest month ever recorded in Edmonton was July 1901, when the city had a total of 283 mm of rain.

He said that Environment Canada is still calculating the total amount of rain received over the last few days, as well as the damage caused by the storms.

Central Alberta communities brace for more flooding as rain continues

More rain expected in the forecast

Forecast thunderstorm conditions could push Edmonton closer to that all-time record in the coming days.

As of Monday afternoon, Environment Canada is calling for a 30 per cent chance of showers with a risk of thunderstorms over the next two days.

“I wouldn’t be surprised to see some thundershowers today, again tomorrow, and really right through Canada Day at this point in time,” Proctor said.

Just before 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorms watch for Edmonton and east-central Alberta.

The agency states that severe thunderstorm watches are issued when conditions are favourable for the development of storms capable of producing damaging hail, wind or rain.

Serra Hamilton is a reporter with CBC News in Edmonton. She has previously worked as a reporter for Cabin Radio in the NWT and for The Signal in Halifax. She can be reached at serra.hamilton@cbc.ca.