Another round of rain and thunderstorms for Montreal

Just about every other day this month has featured some form of rain or thunderstorms across eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. Some have been forecast, while others seem to pop up out of nowhere. Sadly this trend is expected to continue through  the upcoming weekend. (Valley Weather Photo)

Strong low pressure for June is forecast to deepen as it lifts northeast form the Midwestern United States down the St. Lawrence Valley towards Quebec City over the next 24-36 hours. This storm system on the weather maps is more typical of a winter storm and not one you would expect to find in June. That being said, only liquid precipitation is forecast, as it is June!

On Wednesday, clouds will begin to increase as a warm front associated with the storm moves northeast. A few showers and thunderstorms are expected ahead of the main event on Thursday. While no severe weather is anticipated Wednesday in Montreal, some heavy rain will be possible with any storms that develop.

Thursday will be a more active day, with a round of heavy rain in the morning, with as much as 30mm possible for Montreal. A few breaks in the cloud will stir up afternoon showers and thunderstorms, some with torrential rain, gusty winds and small hail. The activity should diminish by sunset. 

Rain totals over the next 4 days could easily surpass 50mm for some locations in our region. Heavy rainfall warnings are currently in effect from Sorel-Tracy towards Quebec City along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.

Temperatures will remain in the middle 20s both Wednesday and Thursday, with overnight lows in the teens.

Gusty winds will develop with this storm system, even outside of thunderstorm activity. The winds will back from southeast to southwest on Thursday, gusting between 30-60km/h.

As the storm system moves towards the lower St. Lawrence River Valley, it will begin to slow, resulting in stubborn clouds, scattered afternoon showers and chilly temperatures for mid-June. These conditions will persist into Sunday, before yet another storm system approaches for the start of the new work week.

June has already been a wet month in Montreal, with rain falling on more than half the days already. Amounts range from 60mm (2.3 inches) to more than 100mm (4 inches) to date across the southern portions of the province. At Trudeau Airport, 61.1mm has fallen, while I have measured 73.2mm at my weather station on Ile Perrot.

Dry weather with seasonable seasonable temperatures should return for the St Jean Holiday by next Wednesday. 

Increasing heat, humidity and thunderstorms for Montreal

A warm and humid airmass will invade southern Quebec through the end of the week. Humidex values will soar into the middle and upper 30s. Some heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible, with 25-50mm of rain falling for some locations. (Valley Weather Photo)

Severe Thunderstorm Watch in effect for Southern Quebec including metro Montreal for Wednesday.

A few strong thunderstorms are possible late Wednesday and again on Friday across Southern Quebec.

A summery airmass will move into southern Quebec through Sunday, with increasing heat and humidity as well as showers and thunderstorms. A warm front will lift across the region on Wednesday, accompanied by showers. Late today, increasing humidity will lead to scattered thunderstorms, some may have heavy rain and gusty winds. High temperatures will remain in the middle 20s Wednesday in Montreal, rising into the upper 20s to near 30C through Saturday. Overnight lows will remain on the warm and muggy side, near 21C (70F).

Cooler air arrives by late Sunday along with more widespread showers and thunderstorms. Highs will drop into the low 20s. Much cooler air will move into southern Quebec early next week, and is showing signs of remaining in place through the end of the month. Highs will be in the low 20s, with morning lows in the low teens.

A rotating shelf cloud southeast of Winnipeg near the community of Ste Anne, Manitoba, likely produced a tornado on Tuesday afternoon. It was part of a significant severe weather outbreak across Saskatchewan and Manitoba including torrential rain and large hail. (CBC)

Severe Weather in Manitoba & Saskatchewan

A significant severe weather outbreak occurred on Tuesday afternoon and evening across southeastern Saskatchewan, Southern Manitoba and adjacent North Dakota. In Saskatchewan, a tornadoes were reported at North Portal, Alemeda and Oxbow, with significant damage occuring. Heavy rain and tennis ball size hail was also observed. 

Storms were more widespread in Manitoba, with tornadoes observed near Ste Anne and Otterburne. Funnel clouds occurred across the Red River Valley. Hail the size of tennis balls fell in numerous locations. Torrential rain fell with the storm cells, causing widespread flash flooding across the southern portions of the province, including Winnipeg. Over 250mm fell in Stonewall, with 117mm at The Forks in Winnipeg. Winds gusted to 94km/h in the city as well. A peak non-tornado wind gust of 130km/h was recorded at Dand and Deloraine. Wind and hail damage as well as flash flooding occurred and is still being assessed on Wednesday.

Widespread tornado watches were in effect from Saskatchewan into northwest Ontario on Tuesday. The severe weather, though less intense, will shift into southern and eastern Ontario on Wednesday.

Wet, muggy weekend on tap for Montreal - hot next week

Rainfall forecast for the weekend can be a nuisance, however it is much needed. Many municipalities across southern Quebec have some form of watering restrictions in place, including Vaudreuil-Dorion, where it is completely prohibited.

Some much needed rainfall is on the way for Montreal and southern Quebec, unfortunately falling over the upcoming weekend. This seems to be a trend developing, with pleasant weather during the week and rainy weekends. That being said, I don't believe this weekend will be a washout.

Stubborn cloud cover and filtered sunshine is keeping temperatures a little cooler than forecast on Friday. The current temperature is 24C (76F) in Montreal, while Ottawa sits at 29C (85F). A frontal boundary will slide across the region overnight and Saturday, tapping into warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, allowing for frequent showers and isolated thunderstorms Saturday. Any clearing that does occur will make conditions more unstable and lead to additional showers and storms. The same is true for Sunday. Some of the showers may produce heavy rain at times. Small hail, lightning and gusty winds are possible as well, but the risk is slight. As we witnessed last Sunday, it only takes one thunderstorm cell or two to creates problems.

High temperatures both days this weekend will be in the middle 20s, with overnight lows in the teens. Warmer, increasingly muggy weather returns next week, with temperatures again rising to around 30C (86F) by Tuesday and maybe the low 30s through Thursday.

The rain is welcome, especially for those towns and cities restricting watering. Many municipalities are evoking water restrictions this summer to help conserve drinking water, so check with your municipality before you water the lawn. In Montreal, major repairs to infrastructure will result in water shortages. As a result residents are being asked to conserve water, especially when it comes to lawns, swimming pools and washing your vehicles.

In the case of Vaudreuil-Dorion, outdoor watering is completely prohibited year-round since January 1st of this year. Fines range from $250 up to $2000 for individuals and up too $4000 for businesses. This includes automated sprinkler systems. Washing vehicles is allowed, as long as the hose has an automatic shut-off nozzle.

With May behind us, it is safe to say it was a rather chilly month. The data backs that up, with an average temperature of 13.3C (56F), which is slightly below the long-term average. Recent years have seen very warm and dry weather in May for Montreal, so this year seemed rather unusual. Below normal rainfall occurred, with 78mm falling at Trudeau Airport.

Calmer, warmer weather week ahead for Montreal

Strong winds and isolated thunderstorms produced widespread power outages and damage over the weekend across southern Quebec. This tree fell onto several parked cars on Leclaire Street in the Hochelaga district of Montreal late Sunday afternoon. (Submitted photo to CTV News)

Happy Meteorological Summer!

The weekend was unsettled as predicted, with cool weather and scattered thunderstorms at times. An upper level low drifted southeast off the New England coast and is moving away from southern Quebec. The circulation around that storm may produce some afternoon clouds and perhaps a shower or rumble of thunder in Montreal, but that should thankfully be the end of this system as it drifts into Atlantic Canada.

High temperatures on Monday, will be warmer than over the weekend, reaching 21C (70F). Winds should ease after a very blustery weekend. The balance of the week looks sunny and dry, with increasing warmth through Friday. Highs will range through the middle and upper 20s, with lows in the middle to high teens.

Speaking of wind, at Trudeau Airport, peak gusts were observed at 78km/h Friday, 67km/h Saturday, and 68km/h on Sunday. Gusts reached as high as 90km/h in other locations. Those winds caused widespread power outages, especially Friday, when over 40,000 customers were in the dark. The same was true across eastern Ontario, where nearly 90,000 homes and businesses were in the dark. In Montreal rain fell heavy at times, with 20-30mm falling since Friday afternoon. 

The thunderstorms also produced a significant amount of lightning strikes in the Montreal region Friday afternoon, the most this year to date. A cooler spring has resulted in fewer thunderstorms so far in Montreal.

Strong low pressure that produced heavy thunderstorms across southern Quebec, delivered a late season snowstorm to Mount Washington, New Hampshire on Saturday. As much as 15cm fell at the summit. (Mount Washington Toll Road)

The storms on Sunday were isolated in nature, but packed a punch. One storm knocked down several trees, including one onto several parked cars in the Hochelaga district of Montreal. Meanwhile in LaSalle, an inflatable play structure was lifted into the air at an outdoor celebration at Oullette Park, causing 11 injuries, 6 serious enough to require hospitalization.

The low pressure produced heavy rain and gusty winds across all of eastern Canada and New England. There were widespread reports of very strong winds as well several boats were damaged along the New England coast. Inland heavy snow blanketed portions of the highest elevations, including Mount Washington in New Hampshire.

Strong wind gusts Friday also resulted in widespread power outages across eastern Ontario. Over 90,000 homes and businesses were left without power, stretching into the weekend for many. (Ontario Provincial Police Photo)

Rainy and windy start to the weekend for Montreal

Periods of heavy showers and gusty winds are possible late Friday into the overnight hours in southern Quebec. Winds may gust to 80km/h in the St. Lawrence Valley.

Special Weather Statement issued for Montreal for gusty northeast winds between 50-80km/h this evening.

An unsettled weather pattern is with us for the next several days as an omega block in the atmosphere dominates our weather. An omega block, named after the Greek letter, is basically an atmospheric traffic jam allowing for a stagnant weather pattern. In our case, strong high pressure lies over the central portion of the continent, while deep upper levels lows sit near both coasts.

Here in Montreal, we can expect a rather cool, wet period of weather, with frequent troughs of low pressure pinwheeling around the aforementioned upper low over central Quebec. As the upper level low slowly slides to our southeast, west winds will veer to the northeast and increase Friday afternoon, gusting up to 80km/h at times into the overnight hours.

Rainfall may be briefly heavy at times Friday, with a few embedded thunderstorms possible late this afternoon and into the overnight hours. Amounts may reach 15-25mm for Montreal. Temperatures will be on the cool side in the middle teens to perhaps 20C (59F to 68F) for those who see some sunny breaks. Morning lows will be near 11C (52F) overnight Friday and again Saturday.

Partly cloudy skies will prevail most of the weekend, but with plenty of instability in the air. Therefore the risk for cloudy periods and showers remains all weekend and even into Monday. Some of the highest elevations across southeastern Quebec and northern New England may even see a snowflake or two.

Warmer and drier weather will return by the middle of next week, as the block begins to breakdown and the weather systems begin to move freely again from west to east.

Warmer weather briefly returns to Montreal

Intervals of rainy weather and warm sunshine over the last two weeks has resulted in an explosion of growth and colour across southwestern Quebec. Unfortunately along with that has been a significant increase in pollen for suffering from seasonal allergies. (Valley Weather) 

Spring can certainly be a little fickle in Montreal, for lack of a better scientific term. Saturday was short and t-shirt weather, with a muggy high into the middle 20s. Sunday on the other hand was unseasonably cold and damp, with a biting northeast wind up to 50km/h. The high managed to reach 13C (55F) late in the day, along with up to 20mm of rainfall as of early Monday morning.

The good news on Sunday was that the rain ended just in time for the waving of the green flag at the Formula-1 Canadian Grand Prix. The race was won by F-1 Mercedes driver, 19-year old phenom, Kimi Antonelli. Just some light drizzle occurred during the race, but the cooler temperatures did make the track surface a little slick at times.

As we start the week, a warm front lies just to our southwest, with a chilly rain falling. That will change quickly as the front lifts north of Montreal later today, with a wind shift to the southwest. Winds may gust up to 60km/h into Tuesday afternoon. The front will set the stage for a warm and at times muggy weather through midweek, with highs in the middle to upper 20s through at least Wednesday.

A cold front arriving late Wednesday will produce isolated showers and perhaps a thunderstorm, before cooler weather arrives on Thursday. High temperatures will fall to around 20C (68F), with lows into Friday morning near 11C (52F)

Briefly looking ahead to next weekend, an upper level low may bring us another shot of unseasonably cool air, along with scattered showers on both Saturday and Sunday. High temperatures are expected to fall back into the middle teens, with breezy northeast winds returning. The poor weekend forecast is still a few days away, so lets hope for a significant change in this pattern that has resulted in such variable weather through April and May. 

Go Habs Go!

Rainy cool weather expected for the Canadian Grand Prix

Regardless of the date the event is held, the Canadian Grand Prix has often been impacted by challenging weather. A rainy, cool race day is forecast for this Sundays race. (Formula1.com)

Montreal has had a stretch of spectacular weather over the last week or so, but sadly that is about to end just in time for the F1 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday. Rain is forecast most of the day Sunday, along with breezy and cool conditions. Low pressure will lift across the central Great Lakes and allow for a southeast flow of cool and damp air off the Atlantic on race day.

The result will be 10-15mm of rainfall on Sunday, along with race temperatures between 10C and 13C (50-55F). The good news is that with a later start time than usual of 4pm, the rain may become more showery late in the day, with a chance that the bulk of the precipitation will have ended.

The very first F1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal was held on October 8, 1978 in rainy, cold weather, with even a hint of a few wet snowflakes in the air. The race was won by hometown hero Gilles Villenueve, his first career F1 win. The temperature at race time was only 6C (43F). (Formula1.com)

The last week has presented typical May weather for southern Quebec. We managed a 5 day stretch of sunny and warm weather, the highlight being Tuesday when we reached 28.3C (83F), the warmest day so far in 2026. A dry, breezy cold front swept across the region late in the day Wednesday, leaving us with a couple of sunny, but unseasonably chilly nights. The Friday morning low at my weather station Ile Perrot was only 3C (38F).

The good news for race fans is that we have two spectacular days on tap for all the events taking place around Montreal and on Ile Notre-Dame. Highs on Friday will be near 20C (68F), warming into the low 20s Saturday, along with increasing high clouds. Unfortunately the weather will not hold for Sunday.

Warmer weather along with clearing skies will return for Monday.