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December Meltdown
High Winds - Record Mild Temperatures
Water thunders its way (above) to Georgian Bay near the mouth of the Pretty River. Access by vehicle was cut off (below) to residents along a portion of Oliver Crescent in Collingwood. The Pretty River flood control system stood up to near record mild temperatures and heavy rain.
The Pretty River Spillway handled excess runoff during the height of the rain storm and mild weather. Residents along a portion of Oliver Crescent were unable to drive their vehicles across the fast flowing water. They were able to hike along the dyke system to nearby Ronell Crescent .
The Black Ash Creek flood control system (pictured below) was able to handle the heavy runoff throughout Collingwood's western retail district. Water was very high and moving quickly.
The extreme mild weather and heavy rain caused problems at the outdoor ice surface behind the Collingwood Curling Club (pictured below).
The meltdown also caused some flooding adjacent to the outdoor ice facility.
In just 24 hours, the heavy snow cover had melted away throughout Central Park in Collingwood (pictured below) exposing green grass and the playing fields at the park's ball diamonds.
Big Chill To Meltdown
The weather can change quickly along the southern Georgian Bay shoreline. The Collingwood region had just experienced record cold temperatures and heavy snowfall activity and overnight, the temperatures climbed to plus 10 and heavy rain and gusty winds ushered in the first thaw of the young winter season. Environment Canada posted high wind warnings on Sunday December 28th. Wind gusts of 90 to 100 km/h were reported along a cold front that was moving into southern Ontario. One day earlier, it was a heavy rain warning that the region had to put up with. The heavy rain and near-record mild temperatures melted snow quickly causing the regions rivers, streams and ditches to fill up quickly. What looked like a terrific early beginning to the ice fishing season in Collingwood harbour was wiped out quickly by the warm temperatures. Area ski hills have been able to withstand the mild temperatures thanks to the early season snowfalls and extensive pre-Christmas snowmaking activity. Normal temperatures are predicted to return to the region later in the day on Sunday. The high winds brought down branches and trees throughout the region, and caused some power interruptions.