Hot and humid weather returns to Montreal this weekend

Tuesday afternoons strong thunderstorms produced brief heavy rain in Montreal, but most of the severe weather and damage occurred south of the city. The photo above was taken as the storms moved through Saint-Laurent around 2pm. (ValleyWeather Photo)

Typical July weather can be expected during the upcoming weekend in Montreal, as a southwesterly flow of warm, moist air develops over southern Quebec. This will pull in some of the heat that has been building across the central portion of the United States since the start of the month.

Before then, an upper air disturbance will move across the St. Lawrence Valley Thursday, accompanied by some pop-up showers and isolated thunderstorms. We are not expecting any severe weather, with the only threat being some heavier but brief downpours. The day will be a touch muggy, with highs around 24C (76F). On Friday, skies should clear, setting the stage for a rather warm weekend. Expect mostly sunny skies Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with highs ranging from 27C (81F) Friday up to and over 30C (86F) over the weekend. Overnight lows will be very warm through next week, ranging from 19 to 22C (66-72F). We are expecting the warm and humid weather to persist into the early part of next week at the very least along with an increase in thunderstorm activity.

The strong thunderstorms that impacted southern Quebec on Tuesday afternoon largely missed the island of Montreal once again. We had some gusty winds and brief heavy rain, but the bulk of the severe weather occurred southeast of Montreal across the South Shore and Eastern Townships. There were reports of tress and power-lines toppled near Saint-Jude, as well as Hatley and Lac-Brome. A portion of Highway 143 was closed after being blocked by fallen trees and power poles. 

Speaking of severe weather, the Northern Tornadoes Project out of Western University has confirmed the first tornado of the year in Quebec, near Val-des-Lacs on July 1st. The storm was estimated to be an EF-1, with maximum winds at 145km/h. They also observed microburst damage near Riviere-Rouge, Quebec. No injuries were reported, but there was widespread tree damage observed.

Thursday marks the 35th anniversary of the Decarie Expressway flood. A series of very strong thunderstorms crossed the city of Montreal on July 14, 1987, dumping over 100mm of rain in less than 90 minutes. You can read the entire story HERE.