Heavy rain and thunderstorms for Montreal

The storm system impacting Montreal on Sunday, produced multiple tornadoes on Saturday. A strong tornado hit Jonesboro, Arkansas, shown above, destroying homes and businesses and injuring at least six. (The Weather Channel).

Heavy rain warning in effect for metro Montreal and southern Quebec, as well as eastern Ontario, including Ottawa.

An strong upper level low will move into the Great Lakes Sunday and then eastward across Ontario and Quebec. The system will provide abundant precipitation to the region, with heavy rain and scattered thunderstorms forecast for Montreal.

The rain will begin early Sunday and persist into Monday. The risk of thunderstorms will be mainly across eastern Ontario, but a few may wander into southern Quebec. In terms of amounts, up to 50mm (2 inches) of rain will be possible in Montreal. The rain, combined with melting snow, may produce some isolated flooding in low lying areas. According to Public Security Quebec, most rivers in southern Quebec are currently below flood stage but are being closely monitored. The only exception at this time is Lac St Louis at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, which is reported as being in minor flood stage. No flooding has been reported.

Strong winds will accompany the rain, gusting up to 60km/h in Montreal.Warm air will flood into parts of Ontario and New England, but a northeast flow will keep temperatures cooler in the St. Lawrence Valley. The high today will be around 6C (43F) in Montreal.

A small area of heavy wet snow will impact the St. Lawrence Valley northeast of Montreal, as well as adjacent portions of northern Maine and New Hampshire. (AccuWeather)

SPRING SNOW
Even colder air will move into the regions northeast of Montreal into Monday, with rain expected to change to wet snow. Quebec City and points north and east may receive between 10 and 20cm of snow. A special weather statement is in effect for Quebec City, with snowfall warnings in the Charlevoix region.

Colder air will eventually arrive in Montreal late Monday, with rain tapering off to a few flurries.

The same storm was responsible for severe weather across portions of the southern and central US on Saturday and early Sunday. Strong thunderstorms produced multiple tornadoes and hail in many locations from Arkansas to Illinois and points east. More thunderstorms are expected on Sunday from the Ohio Valley into the Northeast.