Severe thunderstorm watch, rainfall warning issued for northeast Alberta

Alberta's gloomy weather continues this weekend, withEnvironment Canada issuing severe thunderstorm watches for the Fort McMurray and Wabascaregions, and a rainfall warning for the Fort Chipewyan area.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were initially issued for theFort McMurray andFort Chipewyan regions about 4:20 p.m. on Saturday, as Environment Canada meteorologists weretracking thunderstorms north of Fort McMurray.

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Environment Canada said the storms could haveproduced strong wind gusts, heavy rain and pea to dime-size hail.

The warning was downgraded to a watch in the Fort McMurray area, while arainfall warning went into effect for the Fort Chipewyan region at 5:13 p.m. Saturday.

Rainfall warning

Thunderstorms moved into the southern part of theFort Chipewyan region Saturday evening, and are expected to cause heavy rainfall.The storms will spreadnorth later Saturday night, Environment Canada says.

Between 40 and 60 millimetres of rain are expected to fall between Saturday and Sunday night.

EnvironmentCanada warns that downpours can cause flash floods and large puddles on roads.

Earlier Saturday, rainfall warnings werein effect for Grande Prairie,Beaverlodge,Valleyview, Hinton, Grande Cache, Peace River,Fairview, High Prairie and Manning.