Rainfall warning issued for Edmonton area

Rain falls in Edmonton's river valley.

Rainfall warnings are in effect for the Edmonton area and much of central and north-central Alberta.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued two levels of alert. Most of the warning zone is under a Yellow Level Rainfall Warning with 50-90 mm of rain Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. That includes the City of Edmonton.

A heightened Orange Level Rainfall Warning is in effect for areas east of Edmonton where 70-100 mm of rain is possible.

• Hourly and 7-day forecast on our CTVNewsEdmonton.ca weather hub

In both warning zones, overland flooding is possible due to the fact that the ground is already saturated (or near saturated). That risk of overland flooding is higher in the Orange Level zone.

Heavy, steady rain will start in the west Friday evening and overnight Friday in the Edmonton area. For the Edmonton region, steady rain is expected to continue through Saturday morning.

There may be a few hours in the afternoon Saturday where it “tapers off” to just scattered showers with a risk of a thunderstorm.

Then, steadier and heavier rain is anticipated Saturday night through Sunday.

There’s uncertainty with how long the rain will last in the Edmonton region Sunday.

Some of the model guidance suggests an end late Sunday. However, there’s also the possibility the rain sticks around into Monday.

Here are two estimated rainfall total maps from the GEM and GRAF models.