Montreal tornado

An LCN photo of a funnel cloud yesterday in Pointe Claire

Environment Canada after viewing TV footage from LCN, photographs and talking to witnesses has determined that an F-0 tornado likely occurred in Pointe Claire yesterday afternoon. The storm part of a series that swept Montreal in the afternoon and evening produced 90km/h winds and knocked down power lines and tree branches. Nearly 22mm of rain fell yesterday in Montreal along with the storms bringing our monthly total to 156.4mm. The winds were responsible for power outages to nearly 10,000 homes in Montreal and the Laurentians. May other communities in southern Quebec and eastern Ontario also reported minor damage from the storms. It will be cooler today with a risk of showers and storms again. Wednesday and Canada Day will be cooler with clouds and sun mixing before a the warm and humid air pours back into the region for the weekend. High temperatures will be around 20C rising into the thirties by Saturday.

Tropical Storm Alex is nearly a hurricane this morning. The 8am observation places Alex about 380 miles southeast of the mouth of the Rio Grande River on the Texas/Mexican border. The storm has winds of 70mph and should become a hurricane later today. A hurricane warning has been posted from Baffin Bay, Texas south to La Cruz, Mexico. Alex is forecast to strengthen and could become a category 2 storm prior to landfall. Conditions will begin to deteriorate along the south Texas coast by Wednesday afternoon. A storm surge of 3-5 feet is expected along with 5 to 10 inches of rain and flooding. Alex is also increasing winds and waves along the upper Texas coast east into Louisiana. Live updates can be found in the links on the left hand side of this blog.