Deadly thunderstorms race across Quebec and Ontario

Deadly thunderstorms swept across Ontario and Quebec Saturday afternoon. Nearly 1 million were left without power in both provinces, with 5 fatalities in Ontario. The photo above is the Paroisse Saint-Hugues in Sarsfield, Ontario, just east of Ottawa. (CTV News)

Nearly one million residents of Ontario and Quebec were left without power Saturday afternoon after strong thunderstorms swept across both provinces. As of 4pm Sunday, there is still 316,000 Hydro-Québec customers in the dark. Hydro has assigned nearly 1000 workers to tackle the monumental cleanup and restoration. The same is true on the Ontario side of the border.

Widespread damage was also reported across the Laurentians north of Montreal. Hundreds of thousands remain without power on Sunday. Photo: Ledy Quintero

Photo: Ledy Quintero

A strong line of thunderstorms swept east across Ontario and the Ottawa Valley and into southern Quebec Saturday afternoon. The storms were fierce, with gusts of wind over 100k/h at many locations. Several supercell thunderstorms produced hail 2 to 4cm in diameter, along with heavy rain and strong winds. A peak wind gust to 132km/h was observed at Kitchener, Ontario, with 120km/h in Ottawa. In Quebec, the strongest wind was at Lac Memphremagog at 144km/h, with 100km/h at Quebec City and 70km/h in Montreal. Before the storms Montreal reached a sweltering 31.5C (89F), tying the record set just one year ago. Humidex values were near 40C.

The wind caused severe structural damage in and around the Ottawa Valley, destroying several buildings and tearing down hundreds of trees and power lines. There were sadly 5 fatalities reported in Ontario as a result of the storms.

In Quebec, the Laurentians and Lanaudiere were the hardest hit regions, with numerous reports of damage and widespread power outages.

The Montreal region was even under a tornado watch Saturday afternoon, but the worst of the storms passed north of Montreal.

A reader commented as to why I posted a picture of the Gaylord, Michigan tornado with my Saturday morning column. As stated in the cutline with that photo, it was to drive home the point of the level of concern I had with yesterday's severe weather potential. Unfortunately that concern was validated. Severe weather season is upon us and more storms will follow as we head into the warmest month of the year in Montreal.

Much cooler weather has returned to Montreal late Sunday behind another cold front. Just a few showers are possible, before skies clear out into Victoria Day Monday. The low will be a chilly 8C (48F), followed by a high of 19C (66F) on Monday.

At left: Many power poles were snapped in half by the ferocious winds. (Photo Ledy Quintero)