Powerful thunderstorms sweep the Prairies - humid weekend for Montreal

Severe thunderstorms produced large hail that covered the ground near Estevan, Saskatchewan late Thursday afternoon. (Photo by Byron Fichter via The Weather Network)

A wave of severe thunderstorms swept across southern Saskatchewan last evening, producing flooding, strong winds, funnel clouds and tennis ball size hail in spots. The hail stripped siding from homes, damaged cars and windows and flattened vegetation and crops. Numerous power outages were reported, with SaskPower working to repair storm damage and restore power across the southeast part of the province this morning. The super-cell storms were part of an area of severe weather that stretched from northeast Montana into North Dakota and southern Manitoba. A peak wind gust of 151km/h was reported near Estevan and 96km/h at Deerwood, Manitoba. Large hail, as big as softballs, was reported all across southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. A confirmed tornado occurred near Waskada, Manitoba around 7pm Thursday evening.

Building humidity for Montreal

In southern Quebec, Thursday was rather damp and dreary behind a departing cold front, with a high of only 17C (63F) in Montreal. The cool weather will be very short-lived, as sunshine returns to end the work week. The temperature will respond nicely to the June sun today, rising to 24C (76F). The front in question brought Montreal some needed moisture, with 15mm falling since late Wednesday. A few isolated thunderstorms also occurred in southern Quebec, but the bulk of the severe weather remained in Ontario on Wednesday afternoon. 

As we head into the weekend, the heat and humidity will be on the rise again across southern Ontario and extreme southwest Quebec. Sunshine is expected Saturday, with high temperatures in the upper 20s. On Sunday, a very warm and moist air mass will move into Ontario and Quebec along with a mix of clouds and sun. Expect high temperatures near 30C (86F) in Montreal and a sultry 34C (95F) in Toronto. Along with the heat will come the threat for afternoon showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms may be on the strong side, with the main threat being very heavy rain. The muggy, thundery weather will persist into Monday in southern Quebec.