After the big flood - the big clean up

Crews continue to clean up and assess the damage caused by yesterdays thunderstorms in Montreal and across Ontario and New England.
Heavy rain produced massive flooding in Montreal across the south shore and into Vermont and New Hampshire. Nearly 70mm of rain or close to 3" fell in less than 1 hour swamping the sewer system and flooding roads and stores. Several schools are closed today because of flooding. While no estimate is ready yet damage will certainly run into the millions. You will notice no data on my weather station, the storm took it out and it won 't be fixed until the weekend. Here on the Seacoast of New Hampshire a marine layer of cool air forced the heavy rain and flooding into central and southwest New Hampshire where roads were washed out. In New York state, 3.5" hail was reported, massive for that part of the country.



The photo above is the Atwater tunnel in Montreal taken by my niece Stacy, at the height of the flooding.


- A Valley Weather post using BlogPress from my iPhone

Major flooding hits Montreal

Major flooding hit downtown Montreal around 5pm tonight. (CJAD)

As forecast earlier today, big thunderstorms swept the island of Montreal this afternoon causing major flooding downtown. Nearly 50mm of rain fell on the city in under 1 hour. The rain overwhelmed the Montreal sewer system flooding major roads and downtown businesses. Several downtown stores received flooding and were forced to close. The Ville Marie tunnel eastbound was closed as well as portions of Highways 138 and 20. Tornado warnings were in effect for the border areas of Lacolle and the Richelieu Valley. Flooding also occurred in Vermont and New York, and tornado warnings were in effect for parts of Vermont. The storms are farther off to the southeast now, and I am waiting for them here in coastal New Hampshire. 

Here in Maine and New Hampshire, we had dense fog all day as winds blew inland off the 10C (50F) Atlantic Ocean and ran into the warm and humid air. The cooler air here at the coast should knock down the storms quite a bit as they arrive by midnight.

Route 1-A on the Seacoast of New Hampshire, shrouded in fog today. 
The Atlantic Ocean believe it or not is on the left. (ValleyWx Picture)

Big storms today

I am back online after a night with no Internet, very hard for a techno weather geek. Anyway I will be brief, just a heads up for Montreal, eastern Ontario and New England. A warm front has become the focus for severe slow moving thunderstorms. Watches are posted all day including an elevated risk for a tornado. The big threat will be heavy flooding rain and large hail. It will be warm & humid. Be safe and check back often to the links on the left side for updated warnings.


- A Valley Weather post using BlogPress from my iPhone

On top of the world... or at least New England

Here I am measuring the wind  on the summit of Mount Washington today. It was a rare day with visibility over 70 miles as you can see (ValleyWX pic). 

I have taken the weather show on the road again, this time not too far from home, in New Hampshire. Today I went to the top of Mount Washington to visit the Weather Observatory. At 6288 feet, Mt Washington is the highest peak in New England. The weather can be downright treacherous, but on this day it was near perfect. The sun was shinning and the wind was light, by Mt W standards. Remember this was the location of one of the strongest wind gusts in the world, 231 mph in April 1934.
The wind regularly surpasses 100 mph, and temperatures are often below -18C (0F). On this day the temperature was 24C (76F) at the base, and 10C (50F) at the summit, relatively mild for a place where snow has fallen every month of the year. The wind speed at 12:50pm was 28 mph gusting to 36mph producing a windchill of 4C (40F). It was a thrill to climb the 8 mile Auto Road with our guide Mike. The location is a must see for anyone who is interested in weather. You can drive it yourself or save your brakes and your breakfast (the road is very narrow) and take one of the "coaches" or well equipped vans. Coaches have been carrying visitors up to the summit since 1861. At the time it was a horse and carriage but that has thankfully evolved. How lucky were we to have sunshine? Each year fog and clouds limit the visibility on over 300 days, most times under 1 mile. Today the visibility was over 70 miles allowing us to see all the way to Mount Orford in southern Quebec. More tomorrow when I head south to the Atlantic coast.
Locally across southern Quebec and New England, strong thunderstorms may fire up again by late Monday. On Friday night 2 tornadoes occurred northwest of Montreal. It will be an unsettled week as a warm front remains over the region.
Tropical storm Beryl is nearing the coast with 70 mph winds at this hour. Heavy rain, power outages and coastal flooding are likely tonight into Monday from South Carolina to northern Florida.

F-1 tornado confirmed north of Montreal

Power lines and several silos lie damaged north of Montreal in St-Benoit-de-Mirabel. (Radio Canada Photos)

Environment Canada has confirmed that an F-1 tornado, capable of winds up to 150km/h, struck the tiny rural community of St-Benoit-de-Mirabel northwest of Montreal. The storm struck last night at around 8:15pm as a line of severe thunderstorms moved across the region. Heavy rain and lightning accompanied the system that knocked power out to over 30,000 homes according to Hydro Quebec. No injuries were reported but major damage did occur to several silos and a 200 year old chapel that was destroyed. There was also damage and trees down in Coteau du Lac near Valleyfield not far from my home. While the airport in Montreal recorded 5.5mm of rain last night, I measured 23mm here at my home in about 30 minutes.

This 200 year old chapel was destroyed by the F-1 tornado in St-Benoit-de-Mirabel, 45km northwest of my home.

Today we are dealing with very poor air quality in Montreal. I noticed lots of smoke and haze this morning, likely caused by the northeast Ontario forest fires. The poor air has prompted Environment Quebec to issue a smog warning for metro Montreal.

Strong storms cross Montreal

Awesome storm photo from Ottawa this evening. Photo by @MSC_63 via The Weather Network.

ALL WEATHER WARNINGS HAVE NOW ENDED FOR MONTREAL AND POINTS WEST.

A fierce line of thunderstorms has crossed the Ottawa Valley and southern Quebec and is now affecting the south shore and points east. A tornado warning was issued for Montreal and surrounding regions after two separate storm cells showed signs of rotation. I observed both storms as long as daylight would allow me and saw no rotation. As best I can tell the strongest portion of the storms passed very close to my location here on L'Ile Perrot. Winds gusted to over 30km/h at my home and up to 55km/h at the airport. They may have been higher here on L'Ile Perrot but data is only sent to my computer every 15 seconds. Heavy rain was the big story here with 23mm or just under 1 inch in less than 30 minutes. The tornado warning has expired for Montreal Island but a severe thunderstorm watch remains posted until midnight. I imagine that will expire shortly as well as most of the activity is off to the east. Ottawa also had heavy storms with power outages reported. According to CFRA in Ottawa, an 18 year old man is in critical condition after being struck by lightning near Vincent Massey Park during the storm.

Strong thunderstorms possible

Thick smoke and flames from the Kirkland Lake forest fire. (CBC)

This is one of those weather days where there is just too much going on to cover it all in depth, We will start locally where a warm and very humid air mass is in place. Here on L'Ile Perrot we managed 29C yesterday and dropped only to 19C overnight. We are already sitting at 22C this morning with a juicy dew point of 17C. Basically we have a ripe air mass for thunderstorms. We should see some later today as a cold front enters the St. Lawrence Valley by late afternoon. Some storms could be on the heavy side with gusty winds, heavy downpours and small hail. It will be warm again today, reaching 27C. The weekend looks decent although not perfect. Saturday will be cooler and dry with highs of 23C while Sunday will be cooler yet down to 20C with a few showers.

On the other side of the country it is cold across the prairies with Regina sitting at 1C this morning and flurries in the air. Snow also fell across far northwest Ontario. Heavy rain is forecast from Montana across Saskatchewan over the weekend with as much as 25mm. Where they could use the rain is near Kirkland Lake, Ontario. A massive forest fire burning about 2700 hectares continues to test firefighters. Winds have been strong and temperatures warm under a nearly stationary high pressure area. Dense smoke from the blaze is affecting the Timmins area where a state of emergency has been declared.

Tropics: It is not unheard of the have such an early active tropical season in the Atlantic, but it is rare. Last weekend it was tropical storm Alberto which thankfully moved out to sea and dissipated. This week we are looking at an elongated area of low pressure off the coast of Florida that has deluged the state this week. Nearly 10 inches of rain fell in south Florida with major flooding. The system is forecast to develop into a tropical storm this weekend and be named Beryl. The storm will move northeast and then back west towards the beaches of Georgia and the Carolina's. Remember it is the busy Memorial Day Weekend and the area will be very crowded. All interests should monitor the latest forecast for the area available HERE.

Sat image of hurricane Bud approaching the southwest Mexican coast this morning.

 Finally we have hurricane Bud in the Pacific Ocean off the southwest coast of Mexico. The storm at one point yesterday was a major Category 3 system but has weakened slightly this morning. The dangerous storm with 110 mph winds should make landfall near Manzanillo later today or tonight with high winds, pounding surf and up to 15 inches of rain.

Thunder possible today & Friday

Once the clouds lifted on Wednesday, it was actually a rather pleasant day with sunshine and highs of 22C. Today we started off at a rather muggy 13C at 6am that has rapidly risen to 19C here on L'Ile Perrot. It will be a very warm and humid day with a 30 percent chance of afternoon showers and perhaps a rumble of thunder. Temperatures will try to hit 30C, already for the second time this year and we are only in May. A cold front will approach the area on Friday with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms likely. Temperatures will again be warm on Friday to 27C before drier and cooler air moves in for the weekend. Temperatures will cool into the mid 20's with sunshine for Saturday. Clouds will increase on Sunday with a chance of some showers.

F-0 Tornado

F-0 tornado (wind speeds 64 to 116km/h) captured near Orono, Ontario on Tuesday afternoon. (Global News Toronto via Twitter)

It sure was nice for the rain to hold off until the end of the long weekend here in southern Quebec. We had a sunny and hot weekend followed by some heavy rain on Tuesday. There were numerous thunderstorms around yesterday, but most produced heavy rain and little in the way of severe weather. The exception was near Orono, Ontario east of Oshawa where an F-0 tornado was reported around 5:20pm with no damage or injuries. Rainfall was quite heavy in places where the storms did occur yesterday. Around 25mm fell here at my place on L'Ile Perrot with about 23mm at the airport. As much as 50 to even 80mm was reported locally across both Eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

It will be a very mild and humid week with some clouds and fog around this morning, giving way to sunshine and high temperatures near 23C today. Thursday into this upcoming weekend will be warm and a touch on the humid side with some showers and perhaps a thunderstorm by late Friday. High temperatures will be near 28C for highs and the upper teens for lows, well above normal for May.

After the sun - heavy rain

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCH - ENDED

Environment Canada at 3:05pm has posted a thunderstorm watch for the Montreal metro area and points southwest along the St. Lawrence River, as well as the Townships. Slow moving showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain are developing in Ontario and New York. The storms are moving slowly northeast along a cold front towards southern Quebec. Already 20mm has fallen on L'Ile Perrot. Storm totals will be in the 40-50mm range, or up to 2 inches. The storms will taper off by this evening.

Record high for Montreal



The "dog days of summer" in May!
My Bella tries to find a cool spot during record heat in Montreal today. The mercury hit 32C (90F) this afternoon here on L'Ile Perrot.

What an incredible holiday weekend it has been weather wise across southern Quebec and eastern Ontario. Temperatures under light winds and abundant sunshine soared to record highs today making it the third month in a row this spring that we have had record highs well into the summer range. The high here on L'Ile Perrot was 32C (90F). St Anicet southwest of the metro region was 34C (94F), while Montreal reached just over 31.2C (89F) beating the record of 31.1 set in 1975. Kemptville, Ontario also reached 31C breaking their record of 30C set in 1998. The warm air will remain in place for Victoria Day Monday but with a few clouds and highs a little cooler around 28C. A cold front with showers and thunderstorms arrives late Monday and into Tuesday with temperatures closer to normal for May.

Tropical Storm Alberto: Alberto continues to meander just off the Georgia and South Carolina coast with very little impact on land except for some rough surf and clouds. All watches have been lowered at this time. Alberto is drifting southwest but is expected to accelerate off to the northeast away from the coast on Monday. The storm has 45mph winds, but is in an area of strong wind sheer and colder water temperatures. No change is strength is expected before the storm moves away from land and dissipates by Thursday. Interests from northeast Florida to the Outer Banks should continue to monitor Alberto.

Tropical Storm Alberto

NOAA image of Tropical Storm Alberto south of the Carolina coast.

Usually I visit the Outer Banks of North Carolina each May in my quest to find my little piece of heaven on earth. Last year we had two straight weeks of sunny and hot weather with no rain at all. This year it was just not in the cards to visit or I would be somewhere in Maryland right this moment. Instead I am sitting at home watching the National Hurricane Center issue its first tropical advisory for 2012. Normally the Atlantic Hurricane season does not begin until June 1, however mother nature knows nothing about that and here we have our first named storm, officially, just minutes ago. As of 5pm we have tropical storm Alberto located about 120 miles south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. The storm developed a tropical nature late this afternoon with winds of 45mph and a central pressure of 29.74". Currently the storm is drifting southwest at 3mph but a more west to northwest movement is expected over the next 24 hours and a tropical storm watch may be needed for a portion of the Carolina coast including the Outer Banks by Sunday. Already high surf advisories were in effect for the Outer Banks with a pounding surf attacking the beaches. I will monitor this storm and provide updates later this evening.

TS Alberto is forecast to pass just southwest of Cape Hatteras by Tuesday afternoon. Usually during the last two weeks of May I would be on Hatteras Island, but our plans have changed for this year.

Spectacular Weekend

A rare solar eclipse will be visible in central and western Canada and the US this Sunday, weather permitting. We will see very little of it here in the St. Lawrence Valley. (AccuWeather.com)

The unofficial start of summer is here, Victoria Day Weekend, May 2-4, and a multitude of other names here in Quebec, whatever you want to call it, it is a day off. Time to dust of the BBQ, take the boat out and plant your summer flowers. Sunshine will dominate right through the entire weekend for southern Quebec, eastern Ontario and northern New England/New York with temperatures warming to near 30C by Sunday. We are chilly this morning with 8C at the airport for a low but much colder off island with lows near 0C is some locations. I recorded 2.7C here on L'Ile Perrot as my official low just before 6am this morning. It even went below freezing with some frost in the Adirondacks with Saranac Lake at -2C at 6am.

Temperatures will warm quickly today under bright sunshine with highs near 23C. Saturday we are looking at 26C and up to 30C both Sunday and Monday. On Monday stubborn low pressure that will be hanging along the Atlantic Coast from the Carolina's to New England this weekend, may send a few clouds into the extreme southern portion of Quebec. I don't think we will see any precipitation from this system.

Cool and dry

Thunderstorms rolling across Lake Champlain into Burlington, Vermont on Wednesday. (Burlington Free Press photo)

The warm and humid air has been pushed out into the Atlantic by yesterday's strong cold front. We are much colder this morning with temperatures as low as 3C in Ottawa and 6C here in Montreal. It will be a chilly day with lots of bright sunshine and temperatures warming up to 16C. Temperatures will be cold enough for frost tonight with advisories in place north and west of Montreal into the Gatineau Hills as well as the Adirondacks and Green Mountains.

Numerous weather warnings were issued by both Environment Canada and the National Weather Service on Wednesday. The thunderstorms produced lots of severe weather, mostly in the form of hail. There were dozens of reports of pea and marble size hail across southern Quebec including south shore St. Hubert where 2cm hail fell at the airport along with 80km/h winds.. The storms missed my location here on L'Ile Perrot with no rain recorded at all. The strongest storms affected the north end of Montreal into Laval. Another area of very strong storms developed rapidly in Clinton County in upstate New York, affecting Champlain and Lacolle in the border region. They then moved north and east into the Richelieu Valley. No storms are forecast through this upcoming Victoria Long Weekend with sunshine and warming temperatures both Saturday and Sunday. Holiday Monday is a little up in the air right now as the timing of another cold front comes into play. There will likely be a mix of sun and clouds along with showers and storms.

Strong thunderstorms today

Thunderstorm watch over

From weather.com, strong storms are possible today from the St. Lawrence Valley into New England and New York.

5pm Update: Most of the activity with today's cold front is well east of Montreal and into Vermont and eastern New England. The watch for Montreal and points west has been allowed to expire. Some strong storms did occur, especially in the north end of Montreal and the Richelieu Valley. Some hail  and heavy rain was observed. Here on the West Island we had some gusty showers with winds over 55km/h, but no thunder or lightning. I have yet to hear thunder this year.

We have a very humid and foggy morning in Montreal today as an unstable, mild and moist air mass is in place. Temperatures are around 13C here on L'Ile Perrot with a forecast high of 22C. The fog will burn off by mid morning and sunshine and warm temperatures are expected into the early afternoon. A strong cold front with a history of severe weather is forecast to move into Eastern Ontario around 2pm and sweep southeast across the St. Lawrence Valley and into upstate New York by 6pm. Yesterday this same front prompted tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings for northwest Ontario including Timmins. Along and ahead of the front look for showers and the occasional strong thunderstorm to develop. The storms will be capable of strong winds and even hail. The cold front should clear the area overnight with clearing skies on Thursday and much drier and cooler weather. At this time the long Victoria Day weekend looks awesome with sunshine and temperatures warming to the high 20's by Monday.

Summer humidity returns

Remember humidity? Well it is back. This morning we have a front just south of the St. Lawrence Valley that is pushing some clouds and showers across the region. It is muggy and will stay that way for the next 24 to 36 hours. On Wednesday a cold front will give us a risk of showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures will be mild, 20 to 23C unless we see some sunshine.

The Pacific tropical season starts today, May 15. Tropical storm Aletta formed a few hours before that last evening. The storm is gaining strength in the Eastern Pacific, 645 miles southwest of the Mexican coast. Winds are 40 mph, and the storm is no threat to land.

- A Valley Weather post using BlogPress from my iPhone

Warm sunshine today

That certainly was close to a perfect weekend for early May. Plenty of sun on Saturday helped sneak temperatures up to 26C around Montreal or very close to 80F. Some much needed showers late Saturday night helped to green up the grass and open the tulips for what turned out to be a glorious Mother's Day. The showers ended just after sunrise followed by rapid clearing by noon. That front has now slipped south of the border across the Adirondacks of New York and has become nearly stationary. You do not have to drive far down Interstate 87 to hit rain and lots of it. The front will remain the focus of steady rainfall across central and southern New York and New England before it lifts back north as a warm front by late Tuesday bringing southern Quebec more showers and thunderstorms. Until then it will be another sunny and warm day today with highs in the mid 20's. Once the threat for showers ends by Wednesday, warmer temperatures and sunshine will develop and last into next weekend.

Weekend Update

Montreal's protesting students resorted to terrorism yesterday as they set of smoke bombs in the metro. The smoke forced closure of the entire system during rushour driving commuters out into the chilly rain. (Montreal Gazette photo)

It seems quiet this morning in our Metro system after Thursdays smoke bombs. The devices managed to shut down the entire subway system on a chilly and showery day. Out came the umbrellas as thousands of commuters huddled at bus stops in the rain.

Skies are beginning to break up a little in Montreal this morning as a front associated with strong low pressure in Atlantic Canada, slides east of the city. Look for a sprinkle or two this morning followed by clearing skies. The warm May sun will rapidly warm temperature to 17C or 18C today. Clear skies tonight will allow for some frost well away from the metro region across the Townships and into Vermont. Saturday will be a glorious day with warm sunshine pushing temperatures into the 20's. That trend will continue into Sunday with just a hint of a front moving across the St. Lawrence Valley overnight Saturday. Again perhaps a cloud or sprinkle but skies will clear rapidly and it will be a sunny Mother's Day. Temperatures will be a little cooler Sunday, around 17C. Good news to start next week, temperatures look warm and the forecast looks dry. We will have to watch low pressure over Texas that is producing major flooding to an area that was in a severe drought, go figure. Anyway that system will move northeast towards the middle Atlantic and could play a role in our weather during the middle part of next week.

More clouds and showers

Wild photo of waterspouts off Grand Island on Louisiana's Gulf Coast on Wednesday. (NOLA.com)

It is official, May has not been very nice so far. We have had lots of clouds, about 70% of the time, and too many showers. We seem to be paying our debt to March and April for the above normal temperatures and sunshine. Just how warm was this past winter? According to Environment Canada, the third warmest since records began. The average temperature across Canada was 3.6C missing the overall record by less than 1/2 a degree.

Yesterday Montreal managed a humid high of 19C. There were numerous showers and thunderstorms across Ontario and into the Laurentians north and west of Montreal but they managed to avoid the city. This morning we have low pressure lifting north along the Atlantic Coast with rain falling rather heavily from eastern New England into the Maritimes. Some locations will see close to 75mm (3 inches) of rain today. Numerous locations in Coastal Massachusetts and New Hampshire had at least that overnight. We will remain under clouds from that system but the precipitation should stay east of the city. Gusty northwest winds and clouds will keep high temperatures down to 15C today. A few showers are possible overnight tonight and into Friday before skies clear out. We are looking at a mostly sunny and mild weekend, but we may see a few clouds and perhaps a stray shower late Saturday night.

We did have some active weather yesterday with small hail in Ontario during afternoon thunderstorms. There was also some waterspouts (tornadoes over water) in coastal Louisiana along Grand Island on the Gulf Coast. I posted a spectacular shot from NOLA.com above.

Rainy week

Morning radar image showing widespread rain moving north. It will be a wet day.

Dull headline I know, but that is pretty much the weather we can expect through Thursday. Today will be a washout as low pressure moves from the Great Lakes east and a warm front lifts across southern Quebec. With plenty of moisture streaming north from the Gulf of Mexico, look for a region wide steady rain with 20 to 30mm likely (0.75-1.25"). Once the front clears the area tonight we are looking at steady or rising temperatures from where they sit now at 13C in Montreal. We can expect some drizzle and fog overnight. On Wednesday it will be milder with a few breaks but also some showers and even thunderstorms in the afternoon. The showers will continue into Thursday before clearing on Friday. At this time the upcoming weekend looks perfect with sunshine and temperatures near 20C. The only hint of a change for the weekend is the potential development of low pressure along the east coast of the US. However at this time it looks like that system will remain east of southwestern Quebec.

Awesome Monday - rainy week

The super moon rising over Montreal Saturday. (The Weather Network)

It is a chilly morning across the region with temperatures close to the freezing point and some scattered frost in rural regions of northern New England and Southern Quebec. Here in Montreal we managed to avoid the frost as temperatures remained around 5C. We have since rapidly risen to 8C under warm sunshine and that trend will continue all day with highs around 21C. Sadly it will be the best day of the work week. Low pressure in the northern plains will move east and increase clouds across Ontario and Quebec this evening. That will be followed by abundant Gulf of Mexico moisture and steady rain all day Tuesday. Look for amounts of 20 to 30mm or either side of 1 inch of rain. Excellent for the grass and flowers, not so for outdoor activities. Clouds and showers and perhaps even some thunder will prevail for the balance of the week with clearing arriving by next weekend. It will be mild today, but chilly under clouds and rain on Tuesday with highs no better than 13C. Winds will also increase with this system out of the northeast to 40km/h.

It was a busy weather weekend across the country with snow and wind in southwest Saskatchewan and in the Calgary area with as much as 10cm reported. In Montreal we had a beautiful but chilly weekend with ideal conditions to watch the super moon rise over the city on Saturday night. The full flower moon was 14% larger and 30% brighter than normal. The cosmic show was brought about by what NASA described as the moons closest approach to earth while being in the full phase.

VIDEO: In Japan, a rare tornado destroyed homes and injured dozens with one fatality as it struck the suburbs of Tokyo.

Weekend Update

We are 0 for 4 in the sunshine department for May thus far. It has been a chilly and at times showery start to the month. Yesterday some warm air nosed into extreme southern Ontario with the temperature soaring to 31C in Windsor. Meanwhile eastern Ontario and Montreal remained as we are this morning, on the cool side of that warm front. More showers are occurring with the occasional rumble of thunder along the US border. Temperatures are in the low teens. The front should pass east of Montreal and allow for some partial clearing and warmer temperatures up to 22C today. A cold front will pass across the area this evening with some scattered showers and may a thunderstorm, again close to the US border. Skies will clear overnight and it will be a sunny but cool weekend with highs around 15C and lows close to 2C. There may even be some frost again Saturday night. Have agreat weekend.

Dense fog

Temperatures are a little milder this morning, but not warm enough to turn off the heat for good. Seems odd this year that we have the heat on in May and the A/C was on back in March. High pressure this morning is trying to nudge into the region after the showers and prolonged drizzle of yesterday and last night. Clouds are still thick with lots of fog across southern Quebec and Ontario this morning, and that will take some time to burn off. Once it does we can expect some partial sunshine and warmer temperatures close to 15C. We will add a few more degrees to that high tomorrow and Friday as we approach 20C. Sadly we will lose the sunshine as a warm front slowly moves across the region with showers and thunderstorms, followed by a cold front Friday and more thunderstorms. The weekend at this time looks fairly mild with a mix of cloud and sun. The storms will be of the garden variety in Quebec, but they could approach severe limits in southwest Ontario with heavy rain, gusty winds and dangerous lightning.

May flowers

The tulips and trees are popping everywhere this morning as a light rain helps them to burst onto the scene. A weather system passing to our south has pushed an area of showers across southern Quebec including Montreal this morning. I have measured about 5mm overnight with the heaviest rain remaining south of the border. Light rain will last until the early afternoon before tapering off. Cloud cover will keep the temperatures a little cooler than yesterday in the 10C range. Skies will try to clear out tomorrow, but I think lots of clouds will remain and we may even have a few sprinkles. A warm front is expected to approach the region late in the day and try top pass across the region on Thursday. We may see some showers and thunderstorms into Friday. Temperatures are forecast to warm into the low 20's by the weekend, assuming the front clears the city.

April 23, 2012, not in Quebec, but in western Pennsylvania, as most storms missed Montreal this past winter.

Below Normal Snowfall
A good friend of mine asked me yesterday how much snow we had this past winter. My reply was none, but I really did not have an accurate figure in mind. He guessed 125cm for the season and he was not far off. I scanned the records and all I could come up with was 128cm a paltry 52 inches or so. The normal for Montreal is nearly double that at 217.5cm. The worst month of this bizarre winter was April with officially only 0.4cm of snow. The most snow fell in January with 57.6cm. I used my snow blower on the driveway maybe three times, not even one tank of gas on the machine. As far as snowstorms go, really, not too many. I found only two days with 15cm (6 inches) or more of snow, December 5 and January 12th, tied at 16cm each. Most of the early storms were more ice than snow events, and with temperatures soaring into the high 20's in March, winter 2011/2012 was a non event.