More heavy rain possible

NOAA visible image of tropical storm Lee approaching the southeast Louisiana coast this morning.

We have a potential heavy rain event developing in the St. Lawrence Valley and northern New York and most of Vermont late on Sunday. This was not in the forecast a little over 24 hours ago when I did the weekend update. First today we are under a very warm and humid air mass. The temperature in Montreal is already 25C with a humidex of 33C. We will climb close to 30C (86F) today with humidex values approaching 40C. The warm and moist air will be the catalyst for thunderstorms, some producing heavy rain into the evening. As the front moves south of Montreal on Sunday, it will stall and begin to pull deep tropical moisture from Tropical Storm Lee into the region. Heavy rain may redevelop late Sunday into Monday with the potential for 25-100mm (1-4 inches) of rain across the region with the heaviest in northern New York. The region is still reeling from the severe flooding from Irene, therefore the National Weather Service has posted a flash flood watch for New York and Vermont. Stay tuned for any possible advisories for southern Quebec.

Meanwhile Lee continues to pound the Gulf Coast this morning with torrential flooding rains. Lee is located about 15 miles southeast of Intracoastal City, Louisiana. The storm should make landfall this morning and then very slowly drift across the state and into the southeast US this coming week. Lee will spread heavy flooding rain across the region and into the Ohio Valley next week. The storm is slightly stronger this morning with 65mph winds, but the real story will be the rain. Scattered tornadoes are also occurring along the Gulf Coast. An oil rig just south of Grand Island, Louisiana reported a wind gust early this morning of 67mph. I will post another update by 7pm this evening.