Heavy rainfall in the county had caused some flooding in Colchester and Harrow and prompted a road closure.
Earlier Wednesday, the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) issued a flood watch, and was upgraded to a warning around 12:45 p.m.
ERCA said rain gauges at the southern end of the region have recorded over 60mm (2.3 inches) of rainfall.
Environment Canada had issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Colchester and Harrow, which called for heavy rain with amounts up to 100 mm (3.9 inches).
Flooding in the Harrow-Colchester area. Photos provided by Essex mayor Sherry Bondy. Bondy says the area received a lot of rain in a short period of time. She says the town is receiving reports of basement flooding. #cklw @AM800CKLW pic.twitter.com/Px4OQh3FFR
— Rob Hindi (@rhindi800) September 24, 2025
Mayor Sherry Bondy said she has been inundated with messages from residents whose streets and homes are flooding and requested motorists stay off flooded roads.
"What you're doing is you're causing a wake and you're causing waves to go up on people's property and pushing that water into people's basements. Roads are designed to hold water and allow for the water to subside into the ground, into the storm sewer, but it can only go so fast, so we need to be cognizant of what's going right now and how much water there is and be careful. Sections of roads are also going to be closed," Bondy said.
The County of Essex said County Road 50 is closed between County Road 41 and Wright Sideroad due to significant flooding in the area.
Bondy said motorists are asked to avoid the area for now.
"We know that from the last flood a couple years ago, the water travels over the county road. It can become very dangerous, parts of the road can wash out, so take care, and if you see a road closed, it's closed for a good reason, and we're monitoring the situation. Our pump stations are not in an alarm state right now," she said.
Bondy said the pump stations are unable to keep up with the amount of rain.
"We are a small municipality and we don't have millions and millions of dollars, so we're doing the best that we can with the resources that we have and I just want people to know that everything is functioning, but we have to check our basements and see what we can do on our end as residents," Bondy said.
In Aug. 2023, Essex and Harrow were hit by heavy floods from a storm that a meteorologist at Environment Canada called a "one in 100 year event."
Significant flooding in Colchester/Harrow. Roads are being closed after reporting conditions. Please stay away from the area. @WE_SEE_ @AM800CKLW @RTT_Amherstburg @Country959 pic.twitter.com/DTA793Hwuo
— BethRuston (@BethTrio) September 24, 2025
Colio Estate Winery is also dealing with flooding in the cellars.
Worker Gail Heffernan lives in the area and said the water was very high while driving to work.
"I know my car was pushing water bad enough that the licence plate was bent up when I got to work. It was crazy, you couldn't get out, it was just, I don't know maybe in some spots, 12 to 15 inches, that's a lot of water in a short period of time, it could have been deeper in other spots, but where I was it was pretty wet," Heffernan said.
Heffernan said Colio is bailing out various areas of the winery.
"When I got here to the winery, the cellars, it had some flooding here, we don't have any damage thank God, it was able to subside," she said.
Heffernan said it's very similar to flooding that happened in 2023.
"I really wish that the town would do something with regards to this because I don't think that a lot of people have actually gotten over the last flood that we had," Heffernan said.
-With files from AM800's The Shift with Patty Handysides