Thunderstorms sweep region

Taken through my window is what appears to be rotation in the clouds as a strong thunderstorm passed southwest of Pointe Claire on the West Island of Montreal on Tuesday. ValleyWX Pic

It was quite a stormy day in and around Montreal, particularly south of the city to the US border and beyond. Strong thunderstorms developed this afternoon in the hot tropical air and swept east. The mercury kissed 30C in Montreal before the storms and all the way up to 33C in Ottawa and a record breaking 36C in Toronto.

Major tree damage from afternoon storms in Athens, Ontario, north of Brockille. (The Weather Network)

The first of the storms fired up between Brockville and Ottawa and swept eastward into the St. Lawrence Valley and across the border area through Ormstown and Hemmigford and into New York. A second wave moved southeast across the Seaway and into northern New York. Those storms produced heavy damage in Potsdam, NY cutting power to 16,000 customers and toppling trees. A roof was torn from a downtown business in Potsdam. Southwest of Montreal, tree damage was reported in Summerstown, Ontario and golf ball size hail in St. Anicet. The heaviest of the storms stayed south of the city but we still managed 37mm of rain at my home here on L'Ile Perrot, most of that falling this morning. I have also posted a picture above of what I believed at the time was rotation in the clouds over Kirkland on the West Island of Montreal around 4:40pm. (Sorry for the window glare I was trapped in my office at the time). As it turned out a funnel cloud was spotted shortly after on Lac St Louis and tornado warnings were promptly issued for the South Shore and Richelieu Valley. I will have more damage reports by morning. The threat of severe weather has ended for the region and just a few showes are possible. It will be warm on Wednesday but a lot less humid.