Early spring temperatures bring early flooding

Five days of temperatures well above freezing following heavy snowfall early in February have led to some floods around Prince Edward Island.

Police around the Maritimes were warning of standing water on roads, and some streets in Nova Scotia were closed because of flooding.

Scott Chandler of Emerald, P.E.I., found over the weekend his property contained some new water features: including a 1.5-metre deep pond, a stream and a waterfall.

"We see that kind of stuff typically in the springtime. Certainly nothing this early," said Chandler.

"There's a lady in the neighbourhood who had actually commented when I had posted the video on social media and she had been here you know, 40, 50 years and she said she had never seen anything quite like that."

Chandler's house is in an open area, surrounded by fields that until a few days ago were covered in deep drifts of snow. He expects some wooden fence posts will need to be repaired and a sump pump is keeping the basement dry. He hopes nature will run its course and things will dry out on their own.

More than 8 C above normal

The average high temperature at Charlottetown Airport over the last five days was 7 C. The normal high for February is -1.5 C.

The temperature peaked at 9.3 C on Friday, just short of a record for that day. The 9.0 C on Sunday was a record, topping the 8.4 C from 2000.

The forecast has the temperature climbing above zero, to 3 C, again Monday. The streak should end Tuesday, with a forecast high of -1 C, but rain on Wednesday and Thursday could lead to more flooding.

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