Huntingdon tornado confirmed

Heavy damage to a gas station near Huntingdon, Quebec from an F-1 tornado on Friday evening. (The Weather Network)

Severe thunderstorms split the Montreal area again on Friday moving across the downtown core and off to the southeast as well as southwest of my location here on L'Ile Perrot. The storms were quite strong to severe especially the cells that moved out of eastern Ontario and across the Valleyfield area and into upstate NY. Hail up to 1 inch in diameter along with heavy rain was observed. Quebec's third tornado of the young season was confirmed by Environment Canada as well, an F-1 (Enhanced Fujita Scale) touching down near Huntingdon southwest of metro Montreal. The storm hit around 5:30pm producing winds of 150 to 180km/h and causing severe but very local damage. A gas station was heavily damaged along with trees in the area. Power was also knocked out in the region. Normally the province reports 6 tornadoes in an average year.

Saturday was a much more quiet and dry day with pleasant highs close to 26C in Montreal. The heat and humidity will be on the rise today and Monday with temperatures near 30C both days and humidex values knocking on the 40C mark by Monday. The weather will be ideal for the Montreal Grand Prix today, but bring lots of sunscreen and water. A strong cold front and moist area of  low pressure will usher in cooler weather and some showers and storms by Tuesday. An active weather week lies ahead with several areas of low pressure and perhaps some tropical development making headlines from the Gulf Coast up the eastern seaboard. More on that Monday.