From frost to hot weather for Ontario & Quebec

The view of a near perfect Sunday from Portsmouth Harbor Light in New Hampshire. (ValleyWX)

It is a chilly start for the week across much of southern Ontario & Quebec with frost reported once again in several locations. It is early for this as it does remain summer! It was as cold as 5C (41F) at my home on L'Ile Perrot this morning with 0C (32F) in Sherbrooke. We will see a sunny day with increasing southwest winds and warming highs into the low 20's. The wind shift will herald the arrival of much warmer air from the southwest that will invade Ontario and Quebec through the midweek. The heat and humidity may be record breaking for some of us with near 30C forecast for many areas by Wednesday and as warm as 33C in Toronto. A warm front will approach Montreal on Tuesday but may remain just south of the city with showers and clouds keeping the temperature a little lower for the city.

In any event it will lift well north of my location here in southern coastal New Hampshire. Wednesday will be a true September gift with sunshine and forecast highs of near 90F here. Who would have thought beach weather in September! The warmth will be short lived with more chilly air and the threat for frost moving into the region by next weekend.

With the arrival and departure of the warm and humid air, we have a pretty good chance of some strong thunderstorms Tuesday through Thursday along both the warm front and cold front. This will have to be monitored closely.

Cold frosty night then warm week ahead

Well I am finally taking a little break from the routine with a few days on the coast in southern New Hampshire and northeast Massachusetts. August was a very busy month with lots of changes in my life and family, so I am glad to change it up and see some different weather. When I return to Montreal, I will be back in the newspaper business, where I belong, working for The Suburban, who are celebrating their 50th year publishing in 2013.

Now back to the weather. Sunshine this morning here in Hampton Beach and mild as a cold front lies to our north. That front passed through Montreal and southern Quebec overnight with a few showers and cooler weather. Temperatures will be cooler today in Montreal, around 19C. Tonight it will be clear and cold again with frost across regions north of Montreal, and in northern Vermont and New York. Temperatures will be near 6C in Montreal but as cold as 0C in the Townships. Then a big warm up is on the way with perhaps 30C by mid-week in Montreal. It will be a warm and humid week with thunderstorms by Thursday.

I will be blogging from the coast for a few days so look for some new pictures soon. For now I leave you with sunrise this morning at North Hampton Beach.

Sunrise on North Hampton Beach this morning.(Valley WX)

Warmer weekend for Montreal

The threat of frost is over for the time being with warmer southwest winds increasing this morning. Temperatures were very cool overnight for this early in September. Frost was reported in some areas north of Montreal and in the Ottawa and Rideau Valley's. It was as cold as 5C (41F) here on L'Ile Perrot this morning, 4C in Ottawa, and 1C (33F) in Sherbrooke. Temperatures will warm quickly today with bright sunshine and highs near 21C (70F). A cold front will sweep the St. Lawrence Valley by mid-day Saturday with increasing clouds tonight and showers Saturday. Sunday will see some residual clouds and showers before skies clear in the afternoon.

Widespread frost & freeze warnings

From Environment Canada, frost warning map for southern Quebec for Friday morning. Lows will be near of below freezing in the red shaded areas and between 3 and 5C elsewhere.

Every September I fight the onset of fall and watch helplessly as summer slips away. This morning was no different as I continue to defy the odds and wear shorts to walk the dog despite the 9C (48F) weather here on L'Ile Perrot. We were as cold as 8.6C this morning at my home at around 7am. Skies are clear and winds are light perfect for radiational cooling. We can expect a sunny day with highs trying to reach the 20C (68F) mark. Tonight will be very cold with widespread frost expected north of Montreal and in the hills and mountains south of the city and into New York and Vermont. Lows will range from near 0C (32F) north or the city to around 5C (41F) in metro regions of Montreal and Ottawa. The shorts will stay on tomorrow morning as September 7 is just too early to throw in the flag!

Frost warnings are in effect on both sides of the international border with several hours of below freezing temperatures possible across the Adirondacks of New York and the extreme northern Laurentians. Low pressure moving north of Montreal by late Friday will allow for a moderation in temperatures as we head into the weekend. Showers are possible both Saturday and Sunday as a cold front moves into the St. Lawrence Valley -
but it will not be a washout.

Much cooler weather to end the week in southern Quebec

Possible Frost Thursday night for Townships & Laurentians
A cold front southeast of Hudson Bay this morning will race into southern Quebec by this evening. In advance of the front sunshine will allow temperatures to climb to 21C (70F) today. Showers along the front this evening will end overnight from Montreal to the US border and early Thursday across New England. Temperatures will settle back into the low teens tonight and stay there on Thursday as some of the coolest air since last May settles into the region. Temperatures on Thursday will struggle to make it to 16C (60F) in Montreal. Overnight lows Thursday night will be around 6 or 7C in Montreal but as cold as 2 or 3C away from the city and below freezing in the colder sheltered valley's of the Townships into upstate New York and Vermont. This will certainly inject some color into the leaves which are starting to turn here on L'Ile Perrot. The good news is it will be sunny through Friday with just a chance of some showers late Saturday. Temperatures will start to warm again into the weekend as high pressure moves off the east coast.

Welcome to a new season

The setting sun on L'Ile Perrot casts an eerie glow on departing thunderstorms to my east. (ValleyWeather)

September 1 marked the start of meteorological fall, but we still have a few decent summer days left, some years more, some years less. The last holiday weekend of the summer was good in Montreal with a warm and muggy Saturday followed by a near perfect Sunday, sunshine and ideal temperatures of 26C. Labor Day Monday not so good as a series of fronts brought us several rounds of thunderstorms with the late afternoon storms being the most active. A well defined line of storms paraded east across Ontario and New York State into Vermont and southern Quebec around the supper hour. There was lots of lightning with the cells but not much severe weather. The one exception was very heavy rainfall. About 12mm fell in just a few minutes here on L'Ile Perrot while the airport recorded 20mm. Much more fell across the Townships with over 60mm (2 inches) at Sherbrooke. Flooding was reported in the Magog area.

The morning storms skirted us here on L'Ile Perot but did manage to topple some trees on the Island of Montreal as well as produce flooding in Laval. Those storms were along a warm front that was followed by partial sunshine and muggy weather setting up the evening thunderstorms.

Morning thunderstorms toppled this tree in NDG. (The Gazette)

Another front will cross the region today with showers and much cooler weather. Temperatures will struggle to make it to 20C. A cold front late Wednesday will bring in some of the coolest air so far this season with temperatures in the single digits for lows and highs of around 16C by
Thursday.

The end of summer 2013

It is so hard for me to believe summer is over. As with many in Canada, it is my favorite season and always has been. When we look back at summer 2013, most people say the same, it was ok, just ok. Nothing spectacular either way with just the one heatwave in July and pretty much near normal weather the rest of the time. I know there were plenty of thunderstorms around the region, especially Vermont, but as far a L'Ile Perrot goes, not so much. One strong storm so far and otherwise most missed the Island to the north or south. There has been a little more cloud and showers and far too many 23C days for my liking!

Summer 2013 will end on a muggy note across the entire region with showers developing later today and showers and thunderstorms expected for the long Labor Day weekend. Temperatures will be near 27C (80F) in most areas from the St. Lawrence Valley into New England. The humidity will make it feel a little warmer. The best chance for stronger thunderstorms will be on Saturday. The warm and humid weather will continue into early next week before a cold front brings some September weather by Wednesday.

Humid in Ontario & Quebec - more flooding in Toronto

It remains very hot across the Midwest and upper lakes and extremely humid in Ontario and Quebec. A warm front remains stalled over the region with a very stagnant air mass in place. High dew points and relative humidity readings have lead to widespread dense fog this morning. Both Montreal and Ottawa are reporting less than 0.6 km in fog. Motorists should adjust their speeds until the fog lifts later this morning. It will remain muggy and misty with the risk of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain, especially in southern Ontario.

Lower Simcoe underpass in Toronto last evening. (Jackie Crandles - CP/24)

On Tuesday soaking thunderstorms stretched across central Ontario with flash flooding reported once again in parts of Toronto. The rain and thunderstorms are occurring along the periphery of a very hot air mass that has pushed temperatures to there warmest readings of the summer in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. The heat has spread west into Manitoba and Saskatchewan where both Regina and Winnipeg were 33C (92F) on Tuesday.

Late summer heatwave

Very hot weather is blanketing the upper Midwest, western Great Lakes into portions of northwest Ontario and the southern Prairies. It has not been a great summer in the Midwest with lots of cool, wet weather but such is not the case this week. Temperatures will soar into the low 30's from Regina to Thunder Bay. South of the border Minneapolis is already 80F this morning on the way to 95F. Excessive heat warnings and advisories are in effect across that region. The heat will last through the Labor Day weekend.

Meanwhile along the periphery of the warm dome of air, showers, thunderstorms and very humid weather prevails from the eastern Lakes into southern Quebec. Most of the wet weather yesterday remained in Ontario and such will be the case today as well. It will remain that way through most of the week. Temperatures today in Montreal will reach 27C (80F) but with high humidity, 94% this morning, and dew points in the low 20's making it feel uncomfortable. It is misty and muggy this morning in Montreal and already 21C (70F). So back to school this week will be warm especially in those older schools without A/C.

Warm and humid week for Quebec & Ontario

We are off to a muggy start to the week across Ontario and Quebec this morning as a warm front slowly crosses the Great Lakes. Most of the activity is over the central lakes this morning into the GTA. Some storms have produced torrential rains with up to 30mm overnight. Montreal remains on the edge of the activity with only about 5mm overnight. Temperatures are warm this morning near 20C with a high humidity reading of over 90%. It will be muggy all day with scattered showers and storms. Temperatures will reach 26C. The balance of the week looks similar with some sunshine but also showers and thunderstorms. Drier air will move into Montreal by Thursday but it will remain warm well into next weekend.

(National Hurricane Center)

Tropical Storm Fernand developed rapidly on Sunday and will dissipate just as rapidly today over central Mexico. The storm formed in the Bay of Campeche and moved inland to be about 60 miles northwest of Veracruz this morning. Winds are near 45mph with weakening forecast today. As always with tropical systems in Mexico, heavy rain and flooding will be the main threat today. Between 4 inches
and as much as 1 foot of rain is forecast.

Another spectacular weekend for Montreal

High pressure has settled into the region this morning as a cold front slides off the New England coast. Temperatures are a little crisp around the area with a hint of fall in the air. Temperatures range from 12 to 16C with a very heavy dew. It will warm quickly today with afternoon highs up to 23C. The weekend looks perfect for anything outdoors with sunshine and high temperatures in the 25 to 27C range.

On Wednesday warm air surged into the area for what may be the last 30C highs of the season. Several records were broken including 30C (86F) at St. Anicet/Lancaster. I recorded 30.0C here as well on L'Ile Perrot, the warmest temperature for August. It was slightly cooler at the airport as usual, reaching 29C.

Showers and some thunder on Thursday produced a little over 13mm (0.5") rainfall here on the island. Welcome moisture for the lawns and gardens. Both Trudeau and Ottawa had about 8mm, while St. Hubert on the South Shore recorded the same as here at home, around 13mm.

Hot weather for back to school

The spectacular full Sturgeon moon last evening. This was also known as a blue moon, the first in three years. A blue moon is a second full moon in less than a month. Find more information HERE.

While many Quebec kids are getting ready to head back to school next week, the weather has finally turned more summer like. Temperatures have returned to near 30C in southern Ontario and Quebec, with increasing humidity expected today. Forecast highs of 29 to 32C (85-90F) are expected across the region. A cold front is entering central northeast Ontario and far northwest Quebec today with showers and some strong thunderstorms. That front will settle across southern Ontario and Quebec by Thursday afternoon. Look for sunshine today and early Thursday in Montreal before clouds increase with showers arriving by early afternoon. Severe weather is unlikely but a few of the storms may be strong with hail, gusty winds and heavy rain by Thursday afternoon. Behind the front temperatures will cool for Friday to normal values of 23C with the air drying out. The weekend looks fair and mild with normal highs around 24C and lows around 14C.

Sunshine - warm for Quebec & Ontario

Temperatures on Sunday reached around 27C (80F) in most of southern Quebec with a southwest breeze and plenty of sunshine. The forecast is very simple for most of this work week, sunny and dry with temperatures between 28 and 32C. (85-90F). An increase in humidity by Thursday will result in more clouds and perhaps some thunderstorms by late in the day. Conditions will turn cooler by Friday. Until then enjoy the outdoors, the weather will be perfect.

Winter?
After record breaking heat early in August, parts of the high Arctic have come back down to reality. A snowfall warning was in effect overnight for Grise Fiord in Nunavut where 15-25cm of snow was forecast. It is -1C this morning with light snow from Grise Fiord north into Eureka and Alert. The week looks cold with occasional flurries and temperature below freezing.

Spectacular late summer weather

We all know summer is in the waning moments. This is always hard to take, especially if you are a summer lover like myself. It honestly has not been a great one at so many levels, but it is still summer, and a bad summer is better than a good winter. Today will be similar to Thursday with warm sunshine giving way to clouds and a slight risk of a shower or thunderstorm. That will be the last raindrops for quite some time. High pressure will park itself over southern Quebec for the next week with sunshine and temperatures warning to near 30C early next week. Humidity will also be on the increase across the region into the middle portion of next week. But all you need to know for the time being is that the weekend will be perfect across southern Quebec, Ontario and New England, sunny, dry and warm. Enjoy!

Big thunderstorms sweep Montreal

Slow moving thunderstorms Tuesday evening dropped nearly 50mm of rain in less than 1 hour on portions of Montreal including Montreal North and Anjou. Houses were flooded and some roads closed including Highway 25. (Radio-Canada)

A late evening cold front crossed Montreal and southern Quebec on Tuesday with thunderstorms. Some of the storms produced flash flooding in parts of the city especially north of Montreal island. Here on L'Ile Perrot I only recorded a few millimeters of rain as the bulk of the activity passed north or south of my location. For whatever reason this has been the typical storm path all summer long. The front has ushered in some cool, fall like temperatures with current readings at 14C (56F). We are looking at cloudy skies today with the threat of some showers and even an isolated thunderstorm this morning. The activity will taper off as the day moves along. It will clear out tonight and be chilly with lows near 10C (50F). The balance of the week into the weekend looks spectacular with sunshine and temperatures from 24 to 28C by Sunday. Even the start of next week looks sunny and warm at this time.

The tropics are heating up as we approach the peak period of hurricane season. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are watching two areas of interest in the far eastern Caribbean and also the southern Gulf of Mexico. The disturbance in the Gulf could become tropical storm Erin within the next 48 hours.

Good weather week ahead for Montreal

Another sunny and very pleasant late summer day is upon us as temperatures will reach 27C (81F) in Montreal. It is breezy out of the west and that will continue but otherwise it is near perfect weather. A cold front will push across Ontario later today and into southern Quebec overnight. Ahead and along the front clouds will yield to some showers and perhaps a thunderstorm. There may be some small hail and heavy rain with any storms that do develop in Ontario today. The threat will be less in Montreal. Clouds and showers will linger into Tuesday with slightly cooler weather. High pressure then takes over the weather into next weekend with sunshine and temperatures warming up.

Arctic heatwave - Inuvik warmer than Toronto

It was 27C yesterday in Toronto, 28C in Montreal, warm for what has been generally a cool summer. However in the far north and across the high Arctic, it has been downright hot with records falling in both the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut. Yesterday Inuvik, NWT established a new record high of 30.4C (86F) beating the old record of 28.1C set in 1989. The normal high for early August is 17C (63F). More heat today and into the weekend with forecast highs of 28C. Even across the high Arctic, Rankin Inlet was 25C (77F) the normal high is 15C, and Sachs Harbor was 19C their normal high is 7C. Sunshine and warmth is forecast right through the weekend and into next week. Vacation plans anybody?

Photo of an EF-0 tornado near Orillia, Ontario on Wednesday. (CBC News)

Ontario Tornadoes
Environment Canada has confirmed three tornadoes in Ontario on Wednesday bringing the total to 14 for the season. Three EF-0 (Enhanced Fujita Scale 0-5) storms occurred in Arthur/Grand Valley, Orillia and near Carnarvon. Meanwhile a waterspout was reported in the Kawartha Lakes region. The storms were capable of winds in excess of 100km/h, but thankfully no major damage or injuries were reported.

Montreal
A cold front sagged slowly south across the Montreal region overnight with showers and a rumble of thunder. About 11mm of rain fell here on L'Ile Perrot. The bigger storms remained to our south over New York and Vermont where up to 5 inches (125mm) of rain has fallen overnight. Flash flood watches and warnings are in place today in Vermont and New York south of Burlington and Plattsburgh with more thunderstorms developing in the warm and humid air. The good news is that high pressure will arrive for the weekend with mild and dry air. Look for sunshine in Montreal both Saturday and Sunday with highs near 24C (76F), perfect late summer weather.

Showers & thunderstorms southern Quebec & Ontario

This will be brief this morning, I apologize, it has been a challenging week. We start the day in Montreal with partly cloudy skies, expect increasing clouds with showers and thunderstorms developing by late afternoon into the overnight hours. Temperatures today will flirt with the 27C mark (80F) in the St. Lawrence Valley. Some thunderstorms may approach strong to severe limits with heavy rain and some hail possible especially in southern Ontario today and towards Montreal late tonight. More showers and storms are forecast for Thursday in southern Quebec with showers lingering into Friday. Right now the weekend looks perfect with warm sunshine, low humidity and highs near 25C both Saturday and Sunday.

Chilly start to a decent week for Montreal

A developing thunderstorm over Montreal Sunday afternoon with the Environment Canada - Quebec Weather Centre building in the foreground. (ValleyWX)

It is a little like September this morning as reality begins to arrive for most of us. The truth is we are on the backside of summer 2013. It is not over by any means but is has been cooler and the nights are getting longer with lots of dew and even some fog around. This morning it was 9.9C here on L'Ile Perrot with lows as cold as 7C in Kemptville, ON and 2C in Saranac Lake, NY. Today will be sunny with temperatures recovering to 22C (72F), a very pleasant, low humidity day. The entire week looks good with temperatures warming to the middle 20's with the best chance for showers coming Thursday.

The skies were wild over the weekend here in southern Quebec as an upper level low traveled across the region. Both days started off dry but the atmosphere quickly became unstable with lots of showers and thunderstorms developing. Clouds were impressive playing hide and seek with the sun producing lots of rainbows. Spectacular lightning lit up the sky Saturday night here on L'Ile Perrot. There was even some hail reported southeast of Montreal.

Just another summer 2013 weekend in Montreal

A spectacular shot Tweeted by the National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama of thunderstorms lighting up the night sky over the Gulf of Mexico.

The weekend weather won't be perfect, but not many have them have been in Montreal during this bizarre summer. July is over and with it record heat, record cold and lots of rain for Quebec and Ontario. Rain fell in places where it normally does not in July, like Death Valley, California (0.75"). None fell in places where it is wet all the time, like Seattle that had a trace of precipitation for July. August appears to be no different as the same weather pattern remains in place. So temperatures will soar into the high 20's near 80F in Greenland and across the far north while it remains in the low 20's (70F) across the Great Lakes and southern Quebec.

On Thursday another 10mm of rain fell on L'Ile Perrot in afternoon thunderstorms, some that were quite gusty with strong winds and torrential rain. This morning it is muggy with fog and clouds. Sunshine will break through allowing the temperature to rise to 24C (76F) and the atmosphere to become unstable once again. Look for a 40% chance of storms this afternoon. The same forecast for Saturday can be expected across the region. Sunday looks a little cooler with showers. No real hot air in sight next week as temperatures remain below normal for August in Montreal.

TD Dorian
The remains of once tropical storm Dorian are showing some signs of strengthening off the southeast coast of Florida this morning. The system will be watched closely by the NHC as it continues
to slowly drift north northeast along the coast. Gusty winds and rain will affect the coastal waters between Florida and the Bahamas today.