Precipitation data

This data contains information on active precipitation gauges in Ontario.

These precipitation gauges:

measure how much rainfall/precipitation falls on the ground (mm)
are peripherals to hydrometric monitoring stations within the Ontario Hydrometric Network

Rainfall and snowmelt are primary causes of flooding in Ontario. The lack of precipitation often causes low water and drought conditions.

Data from the gauges is collected and maintained by the Surface Water Monitoring Centre (SWMC).

The data supports SWMC and partner organization such as conservation authorities, on the local and provincial scale, with:

flood forecasting and warning
drought monitoring

The SWMC transfers precipitation data to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). This happens through an automated process integrated into the SWMC corporate water and climate database.

ECCC publishes and maintains a variety of datasets on their Meteorological Services of Canada Datamart, a publicly accessible source for meteorological and hydrological data. This data source has 24/7 operational service and provides support on a best effort basis during normal business hours.

Ministry contact: Surface Water Monitoring Centre

Additional information

Tags: Environmental and N... Environmental and Natural Resources

flood flood

flood forecasting flood forecasting

weather weather

climate climate

hydrometric hydrometric

rain rain

precipitation precipitation

drought drought

conservation authority conservation authority

Environment and Cli... Environment and Climate Change Canada

Regional Operations... Regional Operations Division

Surface Water Monit... Surface Water Monitoring Centre
Geographic coverage: Ontario
Maintainer: Surface Water Monitoring Centre
Author: Surface Water Monitoring Centre
Author Email: Surface Water Monitoring Centre
Maintainer branch: Divisional Delivery Branch
Last Validated Date: August 7, 2024
Update frequency: As required