A break in the soggy weather for Montreal

A spectacular rainbow developed at sunset over the St Lawrence Valley late Sunday. It was a perfect end to a not-so-perfect weather weekend in Montreal. (Valley Weather Photo)

After a seemingly endless streak of wet weather, the sun is out today, Tuesday, July 4 across the entire region. Since early April, it has rained on nearly every second day in southern Quebec and eastern Ontario. During June, Montreal measured rainfall on 21 of the 30 days. In Ottawa, it rained on 23 of 30 days, including a stretch of 18 consecutive days through July 2. Water levels remain fast and high on area lakes and rivers. Montreal has a 30 percent chance of showers today, before high pressure settles in for a 36 hour dry spell. It is not much, but we will take it. Sunshine will prevail through Thursday morning, along with temperatures warming into the middle and upper 20s.

A tornado moves over Sebago Lake in western Maine on Saturday, July 1st. It was one of four reported in the state on Saturday alone, double the annual average. (TWC)

While Montreal had a few showers and thunderstorms this past weekend, the bulk of the heavy rain fell across the Adirondacks in New York, into central Vermont. Several locations reported severe weather, with hail, strong winds and torrential rains. Well in excess of 75mm of rain fell on already saturated ground, producing widespread flash flooding. Washouts and closures were reported on several major roads in Vermont, including Interstate 89. Severe thunderstorms were also reported in Maine, where 4 tornadoes occurred on Saturday, July 1. Maine averages only two tornadoes for the entire year.

The entire region will be under high pressure for the next two days, before more clouds, showers and thunderstorms arrive for Friday and Saturday. The humidity will be on the rise as well as we head into Thursday. Meanwhile in Western Canada, heat warnings are in effect for portions of southern Alberta. A prolonged heatwave is forecast this week for interior B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. Some locations near the US border are expecting high temperatures in the middle and upper 30s.