The dim light at the end of the weather tunnel in Montreal

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces battle flood waters from Lake of Two Mountains while trying to save a home in Laval on Wednesday. Nearly 2000 troops remain on the ground in the flood zone. (Canadian Armed Forces Photo)

The flood warning remains in effect along the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers.
A state of emergency remains in effect in Montreal, Laval, Rigaud and several other southwestern Quebec municipalities.

Donate to the Red Cross Flood Relief Fund HERE.

There is good news and bad news in the forecast. Friday will be dry, and temperatures will be on the rise next week, especially towards the holiday weekend. In between, however, we are looking at more rain and cool temperatures for southern Quebec. Low pressure will move from New Jersey into coastal New England by Sunday. Rain is forecast to develop late Saturday and persist into Sunday in Montreal. The good news for the flood zone around Montreal and Ottawa is that the heaviest rain should fall south and east of our region. However, any rain at this time is not good, and residents should remain vigilant. Leave your sandbags where they are. At this time, 15 to 25mm is quite possible in the metro region.

The historic flooding of the last two weeks is slowly on the decline, but not everywhere. Here on L'Ile Perrot and in Vaudreuil, the cleanup is beginning, with water being pumped out and roads reopened. In Notre-Dame-de-L'Ile-Perrot, 20 homes were flooded and a total of 27 evacuated. In Vaudreuil, the water level has dropped 13cm over the last 36 hours and will drop a further 10 to 20cm over the next 48. In Vaudreuil, 50 homes were flooded. The Canadian Armed Forces remain on the ground, with close to 2000 troops in the flood zone. In hard-hit Terrasse-Vaudreuil, numerous homes remain flooded and uninhabitable at this time.

On the Island of Montreal, particularly Pierrefonds and Ile Bizard as well as Ile Mercier, it is a different story. Widespread flood waters and damage remain behind, and it may be some time before residents can return and begin the cleanup. Numerous roads remain closed indefinitely. The same is true in sections of Rigaud, Gatineau and Pointe-Fortune, where major flooding remains. Evacuations are in place in badly-damaged Rigaud. The Mayor has hinted that residents who refuse to leave will be fined. The Ottawa River and tributaries in and around Montreal and Laval are on the decline, but remain above flood stage. Water levels on the St. Lawrence River are stable so far, with the river accommodating the extra flow released from the Moses-Saunders Dam in Cornwall, Ontario.