Map: Heavy Rain Wallops Ontario Amid Winter Wheat Harvest

The timing could not have been worse for the Ontario winter wheat harvest. 

Just days after the remnants of Hurricane Beryl dropped heavy rain, large portions of the province were walloped again Monday by a torrential downpour that broke records and caused flooding in some areas. That was followed on Tuesday by yet more rain 

As can be seen on the map below, much of southern Ontario –all the way from Windsor in the west and through to Ottawa and into Quebec in the east – has been pounded with heavy rain over the past seven days.  

According to the London, ON-based Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, the Upper Thames River watershed has now received 75-170 mm of rain over the past week, “and the ground is saturated and unable to absorb runoff.” In London, Monday’s rainfall alone amounted to more than 59 mm, shattering the previous record of 45.2 mm set in 1923. 

In Toronto, heavy rain and flooding on Tuesday knocked out power to thousands of homes and shut down several major routes and terminals, including Union Station, the Don Valley Parkway, and Lake Shore Boulevard.  

As of the end of last week, the Ontario winter wheat harvest was estimated only at about 10% complete overall, although Real Agriculture agronomist Peter Johnson said some producers in the deep southwest part of the province were already complete. 

And while Johnson said at the time that crop quality was still holding up well, the rounds of heavy rain since then have likely now changed things. Crop lodging, which was already becoming a problem before the rains from Beryle swept through, figures to be worse now. 

The good news is the weather outlook is improving. A note from World Weather on Wednesday said mostly dry and warm weather is expected for the next week to 10 days, which should allow the winter wheat harvest to get back on track. Corn and soybean crop conditions should also improve with the drier weather, the note added.