Red River Floodway to be activated, overland flooding possible: Province

The province is activating the Red River Floodway and says overland flooding is possible as significant rainfall continues to hit southern Manitoba.

On Saturday afternoon, the province's Hydrologic Forecast Centre said it expects to activate the Red River Floodway later in the day to manage water levels in Winnipeg.

The city is currently among the parts of southern Manitoba placed under a rainfall warning.

READ MORE: Rainfall and winter storm warnings issued for parts of Manitoba

The floodway had not been operating due to low flow rate. Last week, officials had anticipated starting it up again as early as May. However weekend precipitation changed that timeline.

"Water levels on most tributaries in the Red River basin and along the Red River main stem are rising quickly in response to the rainfall and will continue to rise over the coming days," the province said in a news release.

"Daily average temperatures are forecast to drop below zero early next week, which will slow down the melting of the remaining snow."

The province said water levels on most tributaries in the Red River basin and the Red River main stem are rising quickly due to the rainfall, and will keep on rising in the coming days.

According to the City of Winnipeg, the Red River was at 18.00 feet at James Avenue as of Saturday evening.

The province said most of central and southern Manitoba basins have already had up to 40 millimetres of precipitation, with 30 to 50 millimetres more expected over the rest of the weekend. The province warned some areas could get up to 80 mm of precipitation by Monday afternoon.

The province said an overland flood warning has been issued for southern Manitoba. It said ditches and waterways are still covered in ice or filled with snow, limiting the water flow and potentially causing flooding.

"Citizens are advised of the potential for the sudden rise of water levels in these areas," the province said.