Airdrie under flood alert as rainfall warnings cover Calgary and area

The City of Airdrie issued a flood alert Friday afternoon as Calgary and other parts of southwestern Alberta are under Environment Canada rainfall warnings with as much as 100 millimetres expected for some areas.

"Due to extensive and continuous flooding in Airdrie, the pathways and bridges in Nose Creek and East Lake Park have been closed," the city said in a release.

"The City of Airdrie will continue to monitor and provide updates but advises caution in all areas with water, including Sagewood and Chinook Winds baseball diamonds."

Some residential streets have seen flooding in Cochrane, as well.

Michelle Cressy, who lives in the Sunset Ridge neighbourhood in Cochrane, tweeted pictures of the inundated street outside her home. She said crews were working to clear the water.

• Are heavy rains, snow or flooding hitting your part of Alberta? Share your pictures to calgaryphotos@cbc.ca or or tweet us @CBCCalgary.

Michelle Pinder, who also lives in Sunset Ridge, says the water came several metres up her driveway before receding. 

"The rain was coming down so hard, it was like we could go floating down the road. We wanted to go rafting pretty much in the middle of the night," she said.

"Now it's finally draining and that's amazing. But there's rocks all over our street and it feels like we were in a monsoon."

Some areas in the Bow Valley region could get more than 100 millimetres of rain, the Environment Canada said on its website.

"Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Localized flooding in low-lying areas is possible. Be prepared for possible winter conditions at higher elevations," the alert said.

The heavy rain north of Calgary is also causing some ditches to overflow onto the Queen Elizabeth II Highway near Carstairs, the Weather Network tweeted Friday morning.

The rainfall warning comes a day after the Calgary Fire Department urged people to stay off the Bow and Elbow rivers because of a high streamflow advisory issued by the province.

• Stay off the rivers and reservoir because of 'dangerous' conditions, city warns

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi tweeted on Friday that he spoke with the Calgary Emergency Management Agency about the rainfall and was informed that the Glenmore Reservoir is being drawn down to accommodate the rainwater.

He said no overland flooding is expected from the Bow or Elbow rivers and that the forecast is for levels to peak by Saturday morning.

Rainfall warnings are also in effect for:

• Okotoks, High River, Claresholm.
• Kananaskis, Canmore.
• Airdrie, Cochrane, Olds, Sundre.

Snowfall warnings in mountains

Both Banff National Park and Jasper National Park were under snowfall warnings until early Friday afternoon.

Snowfall amounts of 25 centimetres have fallen along sections of the Icefield Parkway Highway 93.

"An additional five centimetres is expected for the Icefield Parkway before the snow tapers off this morning," the agency said.

"Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions. Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow."