Wild weather day

Dark clouds and gusty winds greet rush hour traffic on the Champlain Bridge in Montreal.

Wild weather moved across the entire region today from central and western New York across Ontario and into southwest Quebec. A cold front associated with an intense early fall storm swept across the Great Lakes with heavy thunderstorms fierce winds and heavy rain. Winds gusted over 100km/h most of the afternoon along both sides of the Lake Erie shoreline. The water level along the Buffalo shore rose almost 7.5 feet above normal sending water onto some roads close to the lake. Heavy lake effect rain and thunderstorms then swept the region around the supper hour causing flooding and trapping several motorists on Buffalo highways. Numerous trees came down and power was out to over 10,000 homes.

In Ontario winds were recorded at 105km/h at Long Point, 100km/h at Port Colborne and Point Petree. Elsewhere they gusted close to 80km/h. In southern Quebec the front raced across the region around 6:30pm with swirling clouds, small hail and gusty winds. The core of the strongest winds will remain in Ontario and New York as the low pressure slowly lifts into central Quebec. The balance of the week will be cool, breezy and unsettled, very fall like.