A short, intense storm dumped 41 millimetres of rain on downtown Toronto yesterday and put morning commuters to the test, but it wasn't enough to cause any serious delays or accidents for drivers throughout the GTA.
Toronto drivers made their way through flooded streets and parking lots, and a section of the Don Valley Parkway was temporarily under water, causing minor delays around Gerrard St. E. until the rain stopped.
Short, intense and flashy storms like yesterday's might become a staple of Toronto's weather, says Environment Canada.
These violent, bursting storms are increasingly replacing the long, drawn-out rainfalls of the past, says David Phillips, senior climatologist for Environment Canada. Climate change doesn't only mean warmer summers, he says. It means more of what the city saw yesterday – and worse.
"You get more of these Texas belly-washers, these kinds of rains that will swamp a street corner."
"You could also get more violent weather. You could see more tornadoes, more severe thunderstorms, with hail and torrential rains that would flood part of the Don Valley Parkway."
