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.