Toronto police want to inform the public of flooding and road closures in the GTA as Toronto braced for a freezing rainstorm that rolled into the city this weekend.

The Don Valley Parkway has been closed southbound due to overflow from the Don River, as well as Bayview Avenue and Pottery Road as there is considerable flooding at the intersection, Kipling Avenue and Gardiner Express saw large puddles in the road way and Bermondsey Road and Eglinton Avenue East saw large pooling of water across the entire intersection. Police ask that drivers and pedestrians stay vigilant.

So far police say a number of cars have reported damage but no major injuries have been caused due to extreme weather.

Environment Canada put in effect a rainfall warning for Toronto with up to 60mm of rain anticipated for Saturday evening.

Sunday will see freezing rain changing to snow and ending in the morning then a mix of sun and cloud. Strong southwest winds of up to 80km/h are forecast to herald the end of the rainfall Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, areas north of the city are forecast to receive significant ice build-up starting from freezing rain Saturday afternoon, with ice accumulation of up to 25mm possible in some areas around Barrie, Collingwood, Midland and Orillia.

Environment Canada is warning against travel in these areas, warning of icy road conditions and “extended and widespread” utility outages.

Rainfall warnings have been put out for all of York, Durham, Peel and Halton regions in the GTA.

Freezing rain warnings are also in effect in York and Durham regions including for Newmarket, Georgina, Uxbridge, Beaverton as well as the town of Caledon in Peel.

The rainfall in Toronto, which is set to break the record for Jan. 11 — 25mm, set in 1980 — has greater potential to cause flooding because frozen ground has a reduced ability to absorb the rainfall and the melting ice, Environment Canada warned.

In a statement, the City of Toronto said crews are on standby to respond to flooding calls and asked residents to help prepare by clearing the city’s storm drain grates of debris.

“Residents are asked to assist in clearing catch basins on their streets, where safe to do so, if they become clogged, as clogged catch basins can result in street flooding and potentially in basement flooding,” the statement said.

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It is recommended that drivers turn on their lights and maintain a safe following distance to help with visibility. Environment Canada also warned of localized flooding in low-lying areas.

With files from Osobe Waberi

Raneem Alozzi is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @r_alozzi

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