Hay River and Enterprise, you'll need that rain gear this week

A rainy first half of the week is on tap for communities around Great Slave Lake, particularly Hay River and Enterprise in the Northwest Territories — both of which look to see high amounts of rainfall through Tuesday afternoon.

You'll need that rain gear this week.

But even more so, you'll need to be aware of the conditions around you because when accumulations get this high, flooding is possible in low lying areas. Hay River already dealt with flooding earlier this spring, which forced evacuations.

The weather maker here is a narrow band of rain that has developed around a low-pressure system sitting south of Fort Smith, over Lake Athabasca in Alberta.

The low itself will continue to move eastward toward Manitoba through the week, but part of the system will stall behind it over Hay River, meaning rain will continue to fall in communities in the North and South Slave.

Record-breaking rainfall possible

The highest rainfall accumulations look to be in the Hay River and Enterprise areas, which are likely to get 40 to 60 mm of rain by Tuesday afternoon.

Though downpours could bring up to 100 mm of rain in the Hay River region.

If we get to the higher end of those figures, it looks possible for Hay River to beat its July 13 rainfall record from 1959 of 46.2 mm. 

Now, rain is also wrapping around Great Slave Lake, and an additional 10 to 20 mm is possible for Yellowknife and Łútselk'e in particular. 

Thunderstorm potential through Tuesday

Now, if rain makes you think of thunderstorms in the summer, you'd be right on track.

With this system, conditions look favourable again for storm potential to continue through the evening and into Tuesday in the North and South Slave. 

All in all, expect some active weather in the southern N.W.T. and be prepared for changing weather conditions.

Though non-severe thunderstorms would be what to expect, as always, if you hear thunder or see lightning, make sure you head inside.

• Looking for more weather news? Keep up to date with Bradlyn's Blog.