Steamy stormy Victoria Day weekend for many in Ontario and Quebec

A rare tornado swept across the northern Michigan town of Gaylord on Friday. The storm resulted in one fatality and several injuries. Damage was widespread. The threat for strong thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes will stretch from central Ontario into western Quebec on Saturday.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch in effect for metro Montreal through Saturday. Large hail, gusty winds, heavy rain, dangerous lighting and even an isolated tornado are possible with any storms through sunset.

A sultry, steamy airmass is trying to move into southern Ontario and Quebec early Saturday morning. As of 9 am, the temperature is already 25C (7F) on Ile Perrot, with elevated humidity levels. Expect highs to reach near 30C (86F). Early Saturday morning, a frontal boundary stretched from Michigan and the upper Midwest into Quebec. Along it, thunderstorms have been developing, some severe, with hail and heavy rain.

 This front has a history of very strong thunderstorms. In the northern Michigan town of Gaylord, a strong thunderstorm produced a tornado on Friday resulting in one fatality and several injuries. Damage and power outages were widespread. The severe weather threat will persist in Montreal most of Saturday and again during a few hours on Sunday afternoon as a strong cold front sweeps the region. In between the showers and storms, the weather will be hazy, misty and muggy.

Similar weather can be expected across southern Ontario, and into New York and New England. Heat advisories have been issued for a portion of Vermont and parts of New England, where the combination of high temperatures and humidity will push heat index values into the middle 30s (90s).

Once the front moves east of the region late Sunday, we can expect clearing skies and sharply colder temperatures. Monday will be sunny, with highs only in the middle teens.

SPRING SNOWSTORM

You read that correctly, while eastern North America bakes, a late spring snowstorm swept across portions of the southern Rockies. Denver went from a high temperature of 31C (88F) on Thursday to 15cm of heavy wet snow by late Friday. Early Saturday morning, the temperature was 1C (34F), with light snow falling in Denver. Snowfall amounts of 15 to 60cm fell across portions of the central Rockies. Widespread tree damage and power outages have been reported.