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Rain on the way to Waterton — but is it enough?

Sep 12, 2017 | 9:51 AM

LETHBRIDGE – Rain is headed towards Waterton Lakes National Park. But will it be too little, too late?

Dan Kulak, meteorologist with Environment Canada in Edmonton, said showers likely won’t move into southwestern Alberta until Wednesday, Sept. 13, turning to a steady rain later in the day.

“The amounts are a little bit questionable at this point in time,” Kulak said. “There may be something in the 5-10 mm range, but really, we have to see rain. We’re not talking about real downpours here. It’s just more of a light type of rain.”

Part of the problem facing firefighters has been a strong westerly wind. While gusts reached 60 km/h during the night, they had calmed down by Tuesday morning.

“We’re expecting generally light winds for the rest of the day,” Kulak said. By Tuesday night and into Wednesday the wind was expected to shift to northerly, at around 20 km/h.

According to data from Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, during the last month the weather station at Akamina, within the national park, reported 5 mm of rain Aug. 24, with trace amounts Aug. 13 and Aug. 30.