Another round of storms for Montreal - Vermont & NY

Portions of the Queen City of Burlington, Vermont were hit by strong thunderstorms on Wednesday. (Fox 44 News)

Thunderstorms will fire up across the region today just as they did on Wednesday. The largest storms yesterday developed in the Adirondacks of New York and swept northeast across the Champlain Valley and into southern Quebec. They primarily remained south and east of metro Montreal during the daylight hours. These storms were big slow moving rain makers producing flooding in parts of Burlington, Vermont. Wind damage was also reported across upstate New York with some trees and power lines down. A second intense line raced across eastern Ontario late last night with intense lightning and gusty winds. These arrived in Montreal right around midnight rapidly crossing the city leaving about 7mm of rain here on L'Ile Perrot.

My Davis Vantage Vue stopped transmitting data at 12:12am during the height of the storm leaving me to believe it had fallen from its perch! It turned out to be an electrical problem that involved 90 minutes of cross referencing without my owners manual before I got it it up and running again. That took me to about 2am so I am a little tired today.

In any event the same air mass that prevailed yesterday exists today across the region. A Flash Flood Watch is already posted for portions of New York and all of Vermont. The potential exists for moist thunderstorms to produce a quick 1 to 2 inches of rain today across that portion of New England. Here in Montreal it is a very warm and humid 20C this morning. Expect showers and some thunderstorms to develop by noon as a cold front move southeast from Ontario. Gusty winds will also begin by midday in the Ottawa Valley and arrive in Montreal this afternoon, between 30-50km/h. The front will dry out the air but bring with it much cooler weather for Friday with a high of only 15C. The weekend looks sunny and dry with a warming trend into next week.

Strong thunderstorms possible today in Ontario & Quebec

Crews repair power lines damaged by strong winds near Waterloo, Ontario. (Waterloo Record)

A warm front remains to the south of Montreal this morning separating cool, muggy air in the city from much warmer and humid air south of the front. Yesterday we managed 19C (66F) while areas in southwest Ontario and into Central New York State were closer to 27C (81F). The result was numerous strong to severe thunderstorms across western New York, southern Ontario as far east as Ottawa and Cornwall and into Vermont. Montreal remained just north of this activity with about 6mm of rain and the occasional rumble of thunder. The storms produced hail, heavy rain, frequent lighting and wind damage. Power was out to thousands in Ontario. A tornado was even reported east of Albany, NY that headed into the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Flooding was reported near Fergus, Ontario.

Tornado threat today from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center. I think the main threat in our regions will be high winds and some hail.

Today nearly 50 million people from the deep south into Ontario and extreme southern Quebec remain at risk for severe weather. I think the main threat for us once again will be heavy rain later today. In Ontario strong storms with hail and high winds are possible south and west of Brockville. There is even a possibility today of some isolated tornadoes in extreme southwest Ontario. Temperatures in Montreal will make it to a muggy 21C (70F), but much warmer south of us into the high 20`s in Vermont and New York. More rain is forecast in Thursday with the risk for further thunderstorms. Watch my twitter feed today for any updates and warnings or watches.

In Moore, Oklahoma yesterday strong storms and rain hampered search efforts in the morning before the sun finally broke out in the afternoon. There was finally a little better news with the death toll adjusted to 24. First responders are credited with rescuing over 100 hundred from the ruble. The National Weather Service has said that the storm reached EF 5 level with 200 mph plus winds as it tore through the Plaza Towers Elementary School.

Moore Oklahoma tornado kills dozens - hundreds injured

From KFOR news chopper, an image of the Moore tornado on Monday.

UPDATE: A little bit of good news in this terrible tragedy, the death toll has been lowered to 24. The Chief Medical Examiners office has said that earlier reports were wrong. Other good news was that nearly 100 people have been pulled from the rubble alive since rescue efforts began.

Search and rescue efforts continue this morning in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore after a powerful tornado on Monday. The storm is estimated at and EF4 with 200mph winds and a damage path as much as 2 miles wide at times. The storm brought death and complete destruction to entire neighborhoods, targeting several retail outlets, schools and a hospital. The death toll is rising with many of them children. Over 200 have been injured. The images are heartbreaking and at times hard to comprehend. The power of this storm was just incredible, a very rare tornado, but sadly too common in this part of the US.

The threat for severe weather remains today across the southern plains and into the Midwest and Great Lakes including an area from Texas to Ontario. Several thunderstorms are even likely into southern Ontario and Quebec with the risk of severe weather in southwest Ontario according to Environment Canada. The main focus here in the St. Lawrence Valley will be heavy rain with up to 50mm (2 inches) possible between this evening and Thursday.

Historic tornado - catastrophic damage in Moore Oklahoma

From CBS News - complete destruction in Moore, Oklahoma this afternoon.

9:30pm UPDATE: Death toll currently at 51 including at least 7 at elementary school. Just heartbreaking the loss of life and level of destruction from this tornado.

From CNN a shopping mall in Moore. It is hard to understand just how intense this storm was.

A massive tornado up to two miles wide at times has struck Moore, Oklahoma with preliminary wind estimates in the EF4 category or up to 200mph. The storm struck at around 3:30pm local time today and has caused complete and catastrophic damage in many neighborhoods around Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City. There are reports of numerous injuries and fatalities but no solid numbers as the story continues to unfold.
This same region was flattened by an EF5 tornado in May 1999. I was living in Saskatchewan at the time and remember the storms that night stretching from my own backyard south to Texas. It was surreal. The damage this time appears to be worse in many parts of Moore. One of the buildings struck was Plaza Towers Elementary School with first responders on the ground searching frantically for survivors.

In Montreal...
A frontal boundary remains just south of the region on this Victoria Day Monday. Showers this morning in Montreal gave way to sunshine and warm temperatures as the front slipped a little further south. Low pressure in the Midwest will ride along the front with periods of rain and thunderstorms expected for the middle portion of the week for southern Quebec and Ontario. The front separates warm and humid air to the south from cooler but still moist air to the north. This system has a history of severe weather with large thunderstorms and tornadoes occurring yesterday from Minnesota to Oklahoma. Hardest hit yesterday was Shawnee, Oklahoma where one fatality was reported with hundreds of injuries. I wrote this earlier and as you can see the severe weather continues today with the Moore tornado.

Rankin Inlet buried under massive snowstorm

The calender does say May, but it is still very much winter in several parts of northern Canada. The tiny Hamlet of Rankin Inlet on Hudson Bay in Nunavut was hit this week by a record setting blizzard. Nearly 100cm of snow (40 inches) piled up over a 3 day period. Keep in mind the normal yearly snowfall for Rankin Inlet is 119.7cm according to Environment Canada, so that represents about 75% of their annual total in one storm. Daily and monthly records were also established as well as the most snow on the ground in any season at 150cm. Roads and businesses were closed as fierce wind piled the snow into 15 foot drifts. The snow was brought into the region on easterly winds blowing off Hudson Bay. Normally the bay would be frozen solid but with large portions not covered by ice, the moisture was available. Another 10cm of snow fell yesterday. This morning it is -2C and still snowing lightly.

Montreal weekend weather...
Thankfully there is no snow in our forecast. The first long weekend of the summer is upon us with dry weather and mild temperatures expected. It wont be a perfect weekend, but I expect more sunshine than clouds and just a slight chance of an afternoon shower, especially by Monday. Temperatures will be either side of 20C from today through Monday. Overnight lows will be cool around 7C. We really need some moisture as conditions continue dangerously dry across eastern Ontario, Quebec and New England. Be very vigilant with any outdoor burning. Looking ahead into next week some rainfall is possible.

Massive tornado sweeps north Texas

Damage late last night in Granbury, TX. CNN.com

It has been a rather quiet tornado season thus far thanks to the record cold that has prevailed across large portions of North America. That will change in the coming days as much more warm and humid air attempt's to stream northward while more cold sinks south. This was evident last night as severe weather prevailed across portions of north Texas. Massive tornadoes occurred south of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex including Granbury, Texas where at least 6 deaths were reported. Hundreds more are injured and 14 missing. The storms also produced massive baseball size hail. Entire neighborhoods were leveled by the mile wide wedge tornado.

Tornadoes fired up across North Texas late Wednesday, killing at least 6 and injuring hundreds. (AccuWeather.com)

Our weather was mundane in comparison with a very weak front just about drying out before it reached Montreal late Wednesday. My rain gauge was barely wet and Trudeau Airport measured a drop at 1.6mm. It remains very dry this month, and with the exception of a shower or two over the next five days, it will remain that way. Temperatures will settle in either side of 20C for highs right through the weekend. There will be more clouds than sun, but I think the precipitation will be very scarce. It starts today with sunshine this morning, clouds thicken and perhaps a shower this afternoon. Any rain will be welcome as May remains dangerously dry.

Some much needed moisture for Montreal

A few showers will move into the St. Lawrence Valley later today along a warm front. The moisture and milder temperatures will be welcome after a chilly start once again this morning. It was not as cold as Tuesday morning with the mercury dipping to 2C (36F) here on L'Ile Perrot. On Tuesday morning we had frost and a record low of -1C (30F) here on the island. It was just slightly warmer at Trudeau Airport with 0.4C (33F), missing the record low of 0.0C (32F) set in 1979.

Temperatures will warm today with a southerly breeze and increasing clouds, highs will be around 16C (61F). Showers will move into the region by this afternoon and last until around midnight. We are not looking for a huge amount of rainfall but anything is good at this point. With the month halfway over we have recorded only about 10-15mm of rain in the metro region. Conditions remain very dry with an elevated fire threat, but no burn ban as of this time. That may change over the weekend - after today the forecast looks dry right through the Victoria Day holiday. Temperatures will be in the low 20's with a mix of sun and cloud.