More storms

Was severe weather and lightning or arson responsible for yesterday's fire at the old Motel Raphael in Montreal? Police are investigating.
(The Gazette)

Flooding in Montreal last evening. (CBC.ca)

A severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect in Montreal and southern Quebec until 11pm this evening. It caps off what has been a very active 24 hours in and around the region. It started last night with more rain in 3 hours than we had the entire month of July. I measured 71mm overnight at my home, 66mm of that falling in a 3 hour span. I am quite confident of its accuracy with the gauge in the middle of my yard, and bone dry at 6pm. I will add a second gauge to my property for the next time, but radar does support that amount. The cells moved right over my location about 25km southwest of the airport.

That is nearly double what the airport measured at 37.2mm. That was a record for Montreal for the date, the previous being 32mm set in 1959. Keep in mind that was a 24 hour record, this fell in just a few hours. Closer to my location St Anne-de-Bellevue recorded 51mm. The heavy rain produced major flooding in some sectors of the city. Thankfully our sewer system here on Ile Perrot is awesome and handled the torrential downpour. Last month Montreal had only 59.2mm, much less away from the airport, and 93.8mm for June. Officially so far in August we have measured over 90mm.

More storms flared up this afternoon with fierce lightning, hail and gusty winds. Power was out in many areas and another 10-15mm of rain fell. Just after the storm started a major fire erupted at the old Motel Raphael in the Montreal borough of NDG. The landmark building famous for room rentals by the hour since the 1960's, had been abandoned since 2009. It is not clear if lightning started the fire, but investigators are on scene tonight.