craven flood 2013
A picture of the Craven campgrounds submitted by Ray Arrance

The clean up continues after a weekend of rain, high winds and lightning in southern Saskatchewan.

The weather started to move in Friday afternoon and by Friday night, the rain was pounding some parts of the province.  It was around 10 o'clock when Moose Jaw started to get hit and the rain lasted through the night with a second major downpour around 4 o'clock Saturday morning.

When it was finally done, 66mm of rain fell on Moose Jaw in the span of about eight hours.  Streets were flooded, some basements were flooded and there were displays at Sidewalk Days that were damaged by the wind and rain.

Moose Jaw wasn't the only area hit with a lot of water in a short amount of time. Lumsden and Craven took in over two inches of rain as well causing organizers of the Craven Country Jamboree to rethink their plans for the week.

The campgrounds were supposed to open on Sunday so music fans could start setting up for the event later this week, but because of the rain the sites remain closed this morning. We're now being told that the sites will not be opened until Wednesday, the day before the music festival starts, in order to allow the area to dry up. In previous years, rain has hit the site and it was turned into a giant mud pit when vehicles were allowed in.  Many campers, RVs and vehicles became stuck as a result so organizers are trying to prevent similar incidents this summer.

Anyone from out of town that was planning on setting up their units can make camp at Evraz Place in Regina until the site is ready. Once that happens, the gates will be opened and the set up can begin but with thousands of people trying to get in at the same time, the wait is likely going to be longer than in years past.

Meanwhile, south central Saskatchewan is without weather radar after the storm this weekend.  It appears as though lightning has knocked out the Bethune Weather Station.

The Environment Canada website simply says "Radar Unavailable" but officials are able to tap into a radar station just south of the border in order to make their predictions. Media, on the other hand, will have to rely on the national weather service for updates instead of tracking storms locally.

It could be some time before the local radar is back up and running.