[GreenLantern]

We have a lot of instrumentation set up in the Kananaskis area, the Hay Meadow site has over 150 MM of rain recorded in under 24 hours, maxed out the gauge.. that is basically right across the street from the Nakiska parking lot.

I have a basic understanding of how these events work, but I do work with a former Alberta Env. flood forecaster who walked me through it.. essentially there is a low pressure system moving east to west over the Rockies, the orographic lift causes the precip amount to nearly double:

Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and create clouds and, under the right conditions, precipitation.

Usually, this happens on the West side of the Rockies (West to East), but every now and then it occurs on the right side, which is why all of this rain is getting dumped on Canmore.. usually by the time this would reach us the towel would already be wrung and just the soaked droplets would be left. Add in the fact that we have a steady stream of precip coming up from the Gulf and slamming into the side of the Rockies, means this system will literally just sit over top of where it is right now and unleash hell until a high pressure system comes in to push it out.