City officials are reassuring Calgarians that extensive flooding is unlikely, with infrastructure and reservoir management eliminating more than 70 per cent of the damage potential seen in 2013.
In a statement made to Postmedia, the City of Calgary said weather conditions are tracking “largely as forecasted,” with 40 to 70 millimetres expected to fall across Calgary and the Bow and Elbow River catchments through Tuesday.
Rain is expected to continue for Calgary, with some relief on the horizon by Wednesday, said Environment Canada meteorologist Christy Climenhaga in a Monday update.
But for now, it’s “cats and dogs” across the province due to a low pressure system pulling moisture into Alberta, and the yellow rainfall advisory for the city remains in effect.
“In the Calgary area there’s a lot of variation through the city, as you often see, like 27.8 mm (of rain) at the airport over the last 48 hours, whereas towards Springbank it’s 42 mm,” Climenhaga said. “And just south of Calgary, if you head towards Staveley, about 100 mm.”
Precipitation varies across the city, with some areas looking to see anywhere from 20 to 40 mm or 50 to 60 mm over the next few days.
June usually brings 112.7 mm of rain to Calgary, Climenhaga said.
Along with the rain, the city is also experiencing high wind gusts that are likely to stick around until Tuesday night.
“In Calgary, it looks like our peak wind gusts over the last 24 hours have been around 80 kilometres per hour,” Climenhaga said.
Pedestrians chat under an umbrella in the steady rain as they wait for a light to change in downtown Calgary on Monday, June 1, 2026.
The colder forecast is also helping to limit runoff conditions.
“Cooler temperatures have slowed alpine snowmelt, and precipitation at higher elevations is accumulating as snow, reducing the severity of streamflow runoff,” said the city in its statement.
Even if temperatures unexpectedly rise, the city’s Glenmore Reservoir and TransAlta’s Ghost Reservoir have the storage capacity to collect runoff to release it at lower rates. Both reservoirs are keeping river flows manageable.
“Anticipated river flows are less than 25 per cent of the peak amounts that occurred in 2013 due, in part, to these operations,” read the statement.
Although the weather is expected to clear up by Wednesday, the city could see more showers and possibly thunderstorms heading into Thursday.
RelatedPathway closures and advisories for Calgary
While river levels remain elevated, impacts — ranging from closed underpass pathways, a boating advisory and water pooling in streets — are expected to remain limited.
“Evacuations, road or bridge closures, temporary barriers, flood barrier closures (e.g., Montgomery, downtown, Sunnyside), operation of the Springbank Reservoir (SR1), and related responses are not anticipated to be required,” read the statement.
Closures are in effect for the Elbow River south bank pathway underpasses on 25th Avenue; Macleod Trail north and south; and the CNR bridge, according to the city.
Bow River pathway closures include the underpasses on the Reconciliation Bridge’s north bank, the Centre Street Bridge, the Louise Bridge’s north bank and the Baines Bridge pathway.
Additional closures include the Bowmont Park pathways and channel bridge, the north bank pathway along the south side of the Calgary Zoo and north side pathways on St. Patrick’s Island.
Calgarians are asked to stay off the river while the boating advisory is in effect, and to keep an eye out for storm drains, Mayor Jeromy Farkas said on social media.
“If you see water pooling around storm drains and it hasn’t drained within 90 minutes, take a photo and submit it via the 311 app or online request,” Farkas said. “This will help City crews respond on a priority basis. If safety is a concern or water is entering a building, contact 311 immediately.”
The city-wide boating advisory that the Calgary Fire Department issued on Friday continues to remain in effect.
The threshold for the flow rate on the Bow River is 280 cubic metres per second, said public information officer Alex Kwan.
Their latest recorded measurement as of 9:40 a.m. Monday was 360 cubic metres per second.
Rain started in the city over the weekend and more is expected to fall on Tuesday. Kwan said that measurement is only going to increase.
“So we’re anticipating it’s going to peak over 400 cubic metres per second tomorrow,” Kwan said. “We’re going to maintain our boating advisory and that’s going to remain in effect. It’s not safe for people to be on either the Bow or Elbow River.”
Outside of their regular fire calls around the city, the fire department saw an increase in weather-related reports.
“We are getting a lot more downed power lines and downed trees recently,” Kwan said.
Although they haven’t received many rain-related calls, he advised homeowners to make sure their downspouts are channelled away from their homes.
He asked residents to be vigilant of arcing power lines or trees falling onto homes, roadways, or damaging structures, and to call 911.
Kwan said anyone on the road should plan accordingly before heading out, should not attempt to drive through any flooded roadways, and should keep an eye on changing conditions.
A section of flood protection berm temporarily removed near the Bow View Manor seniors residence in Montgomery has residents concerned as water rises in the nearby Bow River on Monday, June 1, 2026.
2026 flood season versus 2013
City officials emphasized that Calgary is in a much different position than it was during the historic 2013 flood.
According to the City of Calgary’s statement, more than $1.3 billion from federal, provincial and municipal governments has been invested in flood resilience measures.
“Those investments include new reservoir storage and operations, community scale flood barriers, stormwater outfall gates, riverbank erosion protection, pumping stations, as well as forecasting, monitoring and flood response capabilities,” read the statement.
Those improvements have significantly reduced flood risk, with most Calgary communities protected from a 1-in-100 flood.
The city continues to advise Calgarians to be cautious around rivers, as high river flows can cause bank instability and erosion. Calgarians are also advised to ensure that basements are flood resilient and that rainwater is directed at least five feet away from homes. The city is also asking Calgarians to keep an eye on storm drains and pooling water, and to call 311 if needed.
The city said it continues to coordinate its response with the Alberta River Forecast Centre and severe weather forecasting experts with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
For up-to-date river conditions and developments in response, visit calgary.ca/floodinfo.
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