Strong thunderstorms move across the Montreal region

Rounds of strong thunderstorms are moving across the Montreal region on Wednesday. The main severe weather threat will be from torrential downpours and intense lightning.

Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Montreal

A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect across southern Quebec including the metropolitan Montreal region through late afternoon Wednesday. A series of cold fronts is producing lines of strong thunderstorms across eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. Thee main threat will be heavy rain and intense, frequent lightning.

Pre-dawn thunderstorms moved across the island of Montreal early in the day, producing very heavy rain and minor flash flooding in several locations. The morning commute was slower than normal due to water accumulation. Intense rain produced a quick 20 to 30mm of rain in less than one hour. The storms were accompanied by vivid lightning, hundreds of strikes, resulting in power outages to over 40,000 Hydro-Quebec customers, mainly in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Hudson and Saint Lazare.

The threat for thunderstorms will diminish by early this evening as the fronts clear our region. Cooler, dry air will move into southern Quebec tonight, with chilly overnight lows around 10C (50F) in Montreal. Thursday will be a spectacular day, with sunshine, low humidity and a high of 21C (70F). Some late summer heat returns for the weekend and into the first week of September.

Powerful category 4 hurricane Idalia making landfall in Florida

Satellite image of powerful category 4 hurricane Idalia just off the Florida coast early Wednesday morning. (NOAA)

Idalia strengthened rapidly overnight into a category 4 hurricane, with winds reaching 130mph (215km/h). Early Wednesday morning, the center was located just off the Florida Gulf Coast, 95km west of Cedar Key, moving north, northeast at 30km/h.

Idalia will move inland early this morning, with a storm surge in excess of 12 feet expected along the coast. Coastal flooding, heavy rain, flooding and tornadoes will move across the Big Bend area of northern Florida today, spreading into Georgia and the Carolinas this afternoon and tonight. Forecasters expect Idalia to remain a hurricane into Georgia, with widespread power outages and significant damage expected.

Once Idalia emerges along the southeastern coast, flooding will spread northward into the Carolinas. Idalia is expected to slowly weaken over the course of the next 12-24 hours while inland. The storm however will become reinvigorated once it moves back over the open waters of the Atlantic. Expect Idalia to be around well into the upcoming Labour Day weekend.

Along the Florida coast early Wednesday morning, water levels are rising rapidly and evacuations and preparations have been rushed to completion. It is now time to hunker down and wait and see what Idalia does.

This story will be updated today.

Florida Gulf Coast braces for Hurricane Idalia

A NOAA satellite image of rapidly strengthening hurricane Idalia in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday morning. The storm brushed by the western tip of Cuba overnight. Florida is the next target for Idalia, with landfall expected Wednesday near Cedar Key. (NOAA Image)

Idalia has become a hurricane in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico early Tuesday morning, located 600 kilometres south southwest of Tampa Bay. Idalia has strengthened into a hurricane as of the most recent advisory, with 75mph (120 km/h). Idalia is moving faster this morning, towards the north at 22km/h.

The hurricane is forecast to deepen rapidly today, approaching the Big Bend region of Florida by early Wednesday morning, before crossing the state and emerging on the Atlantic Coast later in the day.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Centre are expecting Idalia to strengthen to a major category 3 hurricane before landfall, with winds exceeding 120mph (195km/h). Isolated tornadoes are possible as well across interior portions of Florida and Georgia during landfall on Wednesday.

The official National Hurricane Center forecast track of Hurricane Idalia through the upcoming Labour Day weekend. (NHC Image)

Hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge warnings are posted for a large swath of the Florida Gulf Coast, as well as the east coast of the US from Florida northward into the Carolinas. Storm surge near landfall is expected to be in the 8 to 12 foot range, producing catastrophic flooding and damage along the immediate coast. Heavy rain, in excess of 200mm (8 inches) is likely across Florida into Georgia and South Carolina. Coastal flooding is likely as far north as Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Idalia is entering deep, warm waters in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, with rapid intensification expected Tuesday. Widespread evacuations have been ordered for coastal counties along the Florida Gulf Coast, and Governor Ron DeSantis has issued a state of emergency. 

Final note at this time, Idalia is expected to remain well south of New England and eastern Canada with no impacts forecast.

The lost summer of 2023

A spectacular double rainbow taken in Laval last week. Will a nice fall be waiting at the end of the summer rainbow, time will tell. (Photo T. Tsoukatos)

The nights are getting longer and a touch cooler in Montreal, and the trees are showing colour. Where has summer 2023 gone? It has not been a very good one from coast to coast to coast. Fortunately in Montreal, all we have to complain about is washed out BBQ's and family outings. Other parts of the country and across North America have been hit by extreme weather that has caused billions in damage and several fatalities. Montreal has received record amounts of rainfall this summer, and in August, only two days above 27C (80F).

Across the country, wildfires have scorched millions of hectares, over 3.5 million in Quebec alone. Several of the fires, like those in Halifax earlier this year and most recently Kelowna and Yellowknife, have displaced tens of thousands of residents and destroyed hundreds of homes. In Canada, four firefighters have died in the fierce wildfires this season.

Across the Prairies, crops have withered in prolonged intense heat and drought, while hail and grasshoppers, yes locust, have destroyed many more acres. 

There are those who don't like the term climate change, I won't debate that here, but our planet is certainly in distress of late.

Heavy rain from the remains of Hurricane Hilary flooded the parking area at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Sunday. Hilary was the first tropical system in nearly 85 years to impact California. (Facebook Photo)

Expanding out further across North America, the central and southern portion of the continent is baking in extreme heat that has shattered records that have stood for over a century. Over the weekend, a powerful Hurricane Hilary moved into Baja California and eventually northward into California and Nevada, dropping amounts of rain in a 24 hour period not usually measured over the course of the entire year. Up to 250mm (10 inches) of rain fell across interior portions of southern California and the hills east of Los Angeles. Flash flooding and mudslides were the result, with a state of emergency declared in California. 

What's left of Hilary is moving northward Monday morning, spreading rain as far north as Montana, southern Alberta and B.C. Any rain would be most welcome across that region.

As I write Monday morning, the tropical Atlantic has become very active with 5 systems of interest including tropical storms Emily, Franklin and Gert. A fourth system in the Gulf of Mexico, may be named later today and impact coastal Texas later this week.

The latest Canadian community to be threatened by wildfires is Kelowna, B.C.. Thousands were evacuated over the weekend as the McDougall Creek fire spread rapidly towards West Kelowna. Hundreds of firefighters have been on the frontlines holding back the flames and saving many homes. (CityTV)

Nearly 12 million hectares have burned across Canada this year to date, the worst fire season on record. If you have not been directly impacted by fire, then you likely have been by the widespread smoke and poor air quality. Environment Canada had issued special weather statements and air quality alerts 897 times from 2017 to 2022. In 2023 to date, 3166 such statements have been issued by the government agency impacting everyone across the country. 

Lastly severe weather and tornadoes have been occurring in our region. While thunderstorms are not uncommon in Quebec and Ontario in July and August, the frequency and severity of the storms have been rather unusual. Damage and power outages along with flash flooding have occurred across both the Ottawa Valley and Saint Lawrence Valley as well as the Townships, Laurentians and Quebec City region. We have had multiple days with rare tornado watches or warnings across our region.

Severe thunderstorm watch posted for southern Quebec

In what has become an almost weekly event in Montreal this summer, a severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for Thursday. The main threat today will be heavy rain, but there is also the risk for strong winds and hail. The storms will arrive in the city during the late afternoon and early evening hours.

Another severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for most of southern and eastern Ontario, and southern Quebec through the evening hours Thursday. A cold front will move into moist unstable air late this afternoon across our region, with strong thunderstorms expected. The storms will develop around midday in Ontario shifting east and northeast into Quebec. The biggest threat today, as it has been most of this summer, will be heavy rainfall and the potential for flash flooding. This is especially true outside Montreal where the ground is saturated from recent heavy rainfall. Gusty winds are also possible along with the slight risk for an isolated tornado. Be weather aware today if you have any outdoor plans. As always lightning is extremely dangerous, so when the thunder roars go indoors.

The front should clear our region overnight setting the stage for a pleasant, cooler and less humid Friday. Enjoy it, the humidity and rain/storm threat returns for the weekend.

We have a very progressive weather pattern in place that has pushed front after front across the Saint Lawrence Valley every other day. The result has been more heavy rain for many parts of the province since the middle part of June. While the storm earlier this week produced only 11.4mm of rain in Montreal, amounts increased quickly once you left the island. On Ile Perrot, I measured 18mm, with 24mm falling in Saint Anicet, Quebec City 70mm and Gaspe 157mm. Large parts of southern and eastern Quebec recorded between 50-100mm.

This trend of alternating rainy and sunny days will continue into next week, as our excessively wet summer persists.

Another round of heavy rain and thunderstorms on the way for Montreal

Precipitation was well-above normal in Quebec and Ontario during the month of July, and it appears that trend is continuing into August. Widespread rainfall warnings are in effect for a large portion of the region.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat. What a summer it has been across North America and particularly here in eastern Canada. We managed two rare spectacular weather days days in a row without severe thunderstorm, flood or heavy rain warnings, but sadly that has come to an end. Widespread rainfall warnings and special weather statements are now in effect across Ontario and Quebec as strong low pressure is forecast to move across the region.

Our attention now turns to a moisture latent low pressure system and warm front lifting northeast from the Great Lakes down the Saint Lawrence Valley over the next 36 hours. Heavy rain is already falling in the Ottawa Valley and will move into Quebec during the day today. The rain will come in waves, with showers and embedded thunderstorms. Amounts will range from 25mm (1 inch) up to as much as 75mm (3 inches). Some of the storms may become strong, with heavy rain and gusty winds, especially overnight Monday.

Unseasonably strong low pressure is forecast to move down the Saint Lawrence Valley over the next 24 hours resulting in heavy rain and thunderstorms for southern Quebec and severe weather over the Ohio Valley into the Northeast and New England. (AccuWeather.com)

While August has been a little better in the Montreal region, with only 9mm of rain at Trudeau Airport since the start of the month, other parts of Quebec have not been so fortunate, with a soggy July basically turning into a soggy August. Quebec City had a record breaking 264.7mm of rain in July, and already 19.8mm to date for August. They will addd to that total considerably this week.

The rain has produced widespread flooding in many parts of the province and across New England. Over the weekend, more heavy rain lifted northward across Maine and into New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Halifax measured 60mm of rain in just a few hours Saturday morning, with more flooding reported.

Over the upcoming week, the heavy rain and thunderstorms will result in additional flash flooding from the Ohio Valley across the northeast and New England and into southern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Dry air will try to return by Friday, but it will be short-lived, with more showers by the weekend for Montreal.

Temperatures will be in the low to middle 20s for highs and middle teens for lows. The weather will feel quite muggy for most of the week.

Montreal's soggy July comes to an end

A flash of lightning turns night into day over Ile Perrot last Friday evening. It was just one of  the many thunderstorms generated this July from warm and moist air locked into the region. A record-breaking 212mm rain fell in Montreal for the month.

That was one wet July, record-breaking for many parts of the province. In Montreal, 212mm (8.4 inches) of rain was measured at Trudeau Airport. Many parts of the island had even more rainfall. There were multiple instances of flash flooding from heavy thunderstorms. That amount broke the record of 182.6mm (7.2 inches) set in 1980 at then Dorval Airport. The McGill University record from downtown Montreal set back in 1958 (246mm) was also eclipsed, with 265mm (10.4 inches) falling. The normal for a typical July in Montreal is 89mm (3.5 inches), so we were 237 percent of the normal value, so it was wet to say the least.

Rainfall amounts were 200-300 percent above normal values across southern Quebec this past month. Many regions established new monthly rainfall records. Meanwhile west-central Quebec and northern parts of the province remained usually hot and dry. This allowed many forest fires to continue burning. Over 1.5 million hectares have burned in Quebec this year to date. (ECCC Image)

At my home on Ile Perrot, I recorded 183.2mm (7.2 inches). Both Quebec City (265mm) and Sherbrooke (258mm) also established new monthly records. Sherbrooke measured 81.1mm in one day on July 10.

The heavy rain across portions of  Quebec City, the Saguenay and Eastern Townships south into Vermont and upstate New York produced widespread, historic flooding in many locations.

Along with the rain was plenty of humidity and severe weather. Besides the flash flooding and hail, three tornadoes occurred in July in the province. Two EF-0 tornadoes, capable of 130km/h winds occurred at Mirabel and Saint Thomas on July 13. Meanwhile on July 18, an EF-1 tornado occurred at Brompton in the Eastern Townships. The storm, capable of winds of up to 155km/h, resulted in damage to homes a barn, crops, several trees and hydro poles.

 As if that was not enough, July also featured multiple days of poor air quality from forest fire smoke and days on end of fog and elevated humidex readings in many parts of Quebec. Montreal reached a steamy humidex of 42C (107.6F) on both July 5 and 6. However, the cloud cover and frequent rain did result in lower daytime highs in general across southern Quebec, but the same conditions produced very mild overnight temperatures yielding above normal temperatures overall in many parts of the region. The average in Montreal was 22.8C (73F), above the normal of 21.2C (70.1F).

Northern parts of the province into Labrador were downright hot this past July. On July 4, the warmest temperature ever recorded at Kuujjuaq near Ungava Bay was observed at 34.3C (93.7F). This smashed the previous high of 25.6C (78.1F) set in 1962. 

August has started off cooler than normal, but dry for a moment or two. That will change tonight and Thursday, as a warm front will result in more heavy rain and thunderstorms across the Montreal region. The weekend at this time looks dry and warm, but rain returns once again to start next week.