Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Severe Weather Update

10pm Update: The watch for metro Montreal has expired for now. Thunderstorms continue to develop over Vermont and some may affect our region later tonight. Showers will continue overnight.

On this anniversary of the Regina tornado of 1912, parts of Saskatchewan are under Tornado watches and warnings once again. RCMP and Environment Canada reported two tornadoes since 7pm local time one near North Battleford, and the other near Saskatoon. Radar shows explosive supercell storms moving northeast of Saskatoon at this hour.

A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is in effect for Metro Montreal and the region south to the US border. South of the border, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch is also in effect along with a Flash Flood Watch for northeast New York and Northern Vermont. A flood warning is in effect for Clinton County in New York. Radar is showing numerous showers and thunderstorms spreading north into southern Quebec. The biggest threat will be heavy rain. From between 25-75mm of rain could occur in a very short period of time tonight creating local flooding. These storms are moving towards Montreal.

An upper level low continues to produce unstable weather with showers and storms. When the sun comes out, the very humid air mass becomes even more unstable. This trend will continue into Canada Day. Montreal reached 27C today.

More thunderstorms

Regina 1912 (Google Images)

Today is the anniversary of the deadliest tornado in Canadian history. In 1912 an F4 tornado nicknamed the Regina Cyclone covered a 30km path from south of the city through Regina and off to the north. Wide areas of the city were destroyed including a YMCA, churches and several schools. The storm touched down at 5pm and lasted just over 20 minutes. When all was said and done 28 people had lost their lives and there were hundreds of injuries. The debt accumulated from the storm took till the 1950's to be paid back. The city was forced to rebuild nearly all of its infrastructure. 2500 people were left homeless and damage was estimated at 1.2 million (1912 dollars).

In our area today, the battle with this stubborn upper level low over the Great Lakes continues. We can expect some sunshine mixed with clouds along with morning fog, followed by more thunderstorms this afternoon. Some of the storms may produce heavy rain and hail. There is even the risk of some funnel clouds along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Valley. Temperatures will warm to 25C under the sunny breaks, but it will remain quite muggy. The balance of the week looks the same as the low pressure area slowly begins to fill an pull of to the northeast.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Rain & Thunderstorms

Radar this morning is showing a westward moving area of rain affecting Montreal and southern Quebec. This rain is in response to low pressure along the Atlantic seaboard. The rain and embedded thunderstorms will continue for most of the day with around 25mm possible. Further west in Ontario it will be more showery with less accumulation. Once this system pulls out of here, we will be under the influence once again of the low pressure area stuck over the Great Lakes. it will produce humid conditions with intervals of sunshine and some showers and storms. (See 700th post). Anyway it will not be a great week for Canada Day and those on vacation. Temperatures will be in the 22C to 24C range unless we get prolonged sunny breaks as we did yesterday. That tends to drive the temperatures up quickly, yesterday Montreal went from 20C to 27C in a couple of hours as a result of the breaks. It also destabilizes the air and can lead to clouds and thunderstorms. Ah the circle of weather!

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Wet week ahead

This is post number 700! Thanks so much for reading.

It will be a wet and unsettled week across Ontario, Quebec and east into the Maratimes. Deep low pressure for June is moving into Ontario from Manitoba after dumping heavy rain, nearly 100mm in that province and producing tornadoes over North Dakota. The storm will keep the hot air to our south over the US, while we experience clouds and periodic showers and thunderstorms. Up to 75mm is not out of the question over the next week with locally even more. The low pressure area will slowly move into central Quebec and become nearly stationary for the remainder of the week. It will not rain all the time, but it will be muggy and damp when the rain is not falling. Any sun will just charge the atmosphere and lead to more thunderstorms. The cycle will continue all week and only improve by late Friday. Temperatures will be from 20 to 25C but the humidex readings could be close to 30C.

This past week produced many severe weather events in both Ontario and Quebec including hail, flooding and tornadoes. Two tornadoes, and F-2 near Avon, Ontario, and an F-1 near Leamington, produced considerable damage but no injuries. Hail was reported in many parts of southern Quebec including around the Trois Rivieres region. Trees were down and power outages occurred especially south of the St. Lawrence River. Isolated thunderstorms are possible over the next 24 hours, but they should not reach severe limits.

Remember to check out the links to the left for any updated WARNINGS or WATCHES which are indicated in red when active.

Friday, June 26, 2009

More thunderstorms on tap

Very unsettled weather is on tap for the region today and through the weekend. Thunderstorms will fire up again today in the warm and humid air and may reach sever limits. Heavy rain and hail are possible from noon on from Montreal through Ottawa, Kemptville and into the Seaway. Winds may reach over 90km/h in the heaviest storms with dangerous lightning as well.

The weekend will be muggy with showers and thunderstorms both days, but also some sunny breaks. The temperatures will be in the 24 to 27C range all three days.

Below is video from Brossard, Qc of last nights storm.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Heavy Thunderstorms

Lightning strikes just to the west of downtown Montreal tonight.

After a very warm and muggy day today in southern Quebec and Ontario (31C in Montreal and Kemptville), heavy thunderstorms have been popping up across the area. Severe thunderstorm watches and warnings have been in effect especially along and south of the Seaway. A cell just moved across the central part of the Island of Montreal and off to the east. I took the picture above as the storms passed. The wind was very strong, cutting power in areas, and whipping up high waves on the St. Lawrence Seaway, as well there was small hail.


Thunderstorms on the way

Yesterday was sunny and warm, a perfect day for the Quebec provincial holiday. I spent it along the shores of Lake Champlain (my pic above) in Burlington, Vermont. The photo below is an AP photo of some of the Midwest thunderstorms. I love that shot.

A very warm and humid air mass is in place over our region. Yesterday was the best day of the year to date. Sunshine allowed the mercury to reach 29C in Montreal and close to 30C across the region. Today we will see an increase in humidity as a cold front slowly moves into the region. We will hit 30C again, before thunderstorms begin to fire up by midday. Some of the storms may become severe from the GTA northeast up the Seaway towards Montreal and south into northern New York and Vermont. Look for brief heavy rain, dangerous lightning and gusty winds, there may even be some hail.The balance of the week into this weekend will be unsettled again. An upper level low will slowly move across the forecast area with showers and cooler temperatures.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Sunny and Warm

A very simple forecast for the next couple of days, sunny and warm, even hot in some places. From Montreal west it will be sunny and very warm with temperatures approaching 30C and even going into the thirties in interior portions of eastern Ontario such as Kemptville, away from the water. It will be sunny and in the upper 20's in Montreal today and close to 30C for the provincial holiday tomorrow.

School is out today so please drive safe on area roads and enjoy the holiday tomorrow in Quebec.

Further south and east in New England and Eastern Quebec, they are still being influenced by that coastal storm that has lingered since late last week. Look for more low clouds, cooling northeast breezes, and even some rain along the coast.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Summer at last...

It appears summer has arrived right on schedule. Yesterday turned out to be a decent day in Montreal and Kemptville despite the forecast. It is a difficult forecast to make from a temperature stand point at this time of year. The temperature responds rapidly to sunshine. Yesterday for example we were expecting clouds most of the day and a high of 22C. The sun came out with less cloud cover, and we reached 26C.

This weekend we were annoyed by stationary low pressure spinning off the Atlantic coast east of Boston. The storm has produced lots of heavy rain from NYC to Halifax. It was responsible for numerous delays in the US open on Long Island, NY. Low clouds and gusty northeast winds prevailed in our area but lifted as the day progressed. Today all that is left from the low in the St. Lawrence Valley and Kemptville is the northeast winds, they will blow at 30-40km/h most of the day. It will be sunny and warm right into mid week with temperatures approaching 30C. Get the A/C ready. The next threat of any rain will be on Thursday afternoon, as the air mass heats up thunderstorms can be expected.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Weekend Weather

Planning your weekend activities, here is a look at the weather you can expect across our region.

In Quebec: it looks like the south will have fog and drizzle this morning with a risk of late day showers as well. Saturday will be partly cloudy with showers and some thunder possible. Sunday and well into next week look glorious with sunshine and warm temperatures.

Ontario: the weather will be the same as in Quebec in the eastern part of the province, but there is a greater chance of showers and decent thunderstorms the closer you get to the Great Lakes, the GTA and the southwest.

New England & New York will be cloudy most of the weekend as they remain influenced by a stubborn weather system off the east coast. This storm will affect the US Open on Long Island and may even postpone some rounds with heavy rain. Low clouds, fog and showers may prevail in this region all weekend.

Temperatures everywhere will be around 20C Saturday and between 23 and 26C on Sunday.

Happy Father's Day, Happy Summer and be safe.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Better weekend ahead

What a difference 24 hours can make! The computer models continue to battle over what kind of a Father's Day weekend we can expect, but it looks much nicer than it did yesterday at this time. Low pressure over the Great Lakes will affect us today and tomorrow with some rain and maybe thunder, and another low pressure area will give us showers on Saturday. But the change comes Sunday when high pressure will move into the area with warm sunshine. Sunday is also the first day of summer with the Solstice occurring at 1:46am EDT. Next week at this time appears to be ideal with sunshine and temperatures over 27C well into mid-week. It even looks like we could reach 30C by next weekend. After a cool May and June, we may be seeing the beginning of a long period of summery weather, hopefully into September!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Enjoy Today

Very simple instructions if you live in Eastern Ontario or west Quebec, enjoy the weather today. It will be sunny and quite warm with temperatures near 27C. Tonight low pressure moving very slowly in from southern Ontario will begin a long period of unsettled weather with more clouds than sun through next Monday and the ever present risk of showers and thunderstorms. It won't rain all the time, and it will be mild but it will not be typical June weather. Any rain showers or storms that do occur, could put down a lot of rain in a short period of time, so keep this in mind if traveling along the 401 or 20. An example of this was on Monday, when Dorval recorded only 3.4mm of rain, but parts of Montreal north and east of the mountain had over 50mm with flooding. The inclement weather will begin today in southwest Ontario and spread north and east into our region tonight and Thursday.

Heavy thunderstorms produced unbelievable hail in New Jersey yesterday. You need to look at this video. HAIL

Monday, June 15, 2009

Slow moving Thunderstorms

A Canadian Coast Guard ship moves west of the Champlain Bridge with a very slow moving thunderstorm as the backdrop. This storm has been slowly moving over the city for the past 3 hours.

An upper air disturbance spinning over eastern Ontario and southwest Quebec is producing big, slow moving thunderstorms today. One storm located over the Montreal area for the last three hours is slowly moving towards the southwest after moving northward across the south shore. This complex of storms has produced very heavy rain locally especially in the eastern part of the city. Flooding has closed several lanes on the Trans Canada Highway (40) near Ville d'Anjou. These storms should continue to dissipate as the evening moves along. Some storms may produce pea size hail, dangerous lightning and up to 75mm of rain in the slowest moving cells.
Flooding was also reported today in central Vermont. Flood Advisories are still in effect around Middlebury, Vt.
Skies will clear Tuesday and it will be sunny and warm through Wednesday.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Some thunderstorms

Thunderstorms and showers develop just to the west northwest of the NOAA reporting station at Plattsburgh International Airport ("Montreal South") in upstate NY yesterday. ValleyWeather Photo.

Unsettled weather continues to rule the region. Today was warm, 25C in Montreal, and even a little muggy with abundant sunshine across the readership area. Some showers and isolated thunderstorms have popped up on radar late this afternoon and this evening. They should dissipate with the setting sun and fire up again Monday afternoon. For a spell weather warnings were in place in Lanark County, as some hail was reported. As of now only a severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect in the Gatineau and west Quebec region and also the Eastern Townships. That should be allowed to expire shortly as the threat for severe weather diminishes. There is still a chance of some rain tonight. Tomorrow will be a repeat of today.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Unsettled weekend...again

Last nights spectacular sunset and "ah-ha" moment caused by breaks and moisture in the atmosphere as the sun set. SB Pic.

Sounding like a broken record, there is more rain forecast for this weekend, but it won't be a washout. Today will be sunny and warm with temperatures nearing the 25C mark in Montreal, Kemptville and Ottawa. Clouds and showers with a rumble of thunder are possible tonight and early Sunday, before it clears out again. This is being caused by a fast moving west to east atmosphere that will steer weather systems rapidly through our area every 24 to 36 hours for the upcoming week. Look for intervals of clouds and sun and the ever present risk of showers. It will be warmer and humid at times. Remember it is June so if the sun comes out it warms quickly.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Ben Franklin - June 10, 1752

It was today, 257 years ago that one of the worlds premier scientists, great American and arguably the first meteorologist (you can see his quote on the bottom of my blog) conducted his famous key on the end of a kite experiment. Boston native Ben Franklin, (1706-1790), was always interested in science and electricity. He decided while attempting to watch an eclipse one evening, and instead being treated to a thunderstorm, that he was going to run some experiments on lightning. One of them was to see if electricity would pass through metal. He attached a key to the end of a child's kite and flew it in a thunderstorm in Philadelphia, PA on this date. His test was successful, in that he drew conclusions about electricity and its properties, many that we still use today, and that he was not killed outright. We know better today, no golfing, boating, swimming and yes kite flying in or near thunderstorms. The region may have some scattered storms Thursday afternoon.

Tuesday, June 09, 2009

Still cool in Montreal - Kemptville

The weather remains cool across large portions of the country. The only heat it seems is limited to B.C. where lightning strikes and dry weather continue to hamper firefighters. Frost and even snow was reported across the Prairies this past weekend, with some intense thunderstorms over southern Ontario yesterday.

Today is rainy and cool again in Montreal. I have been working nights this week, and had to put the heater on in the truck Monday, and a jacket on last night. It does not feel like June. The steady rain is nearly over in Montreal, and has ended in eastern Ontario. The air will remain unstable and cool, and I expect thunderstorms to develop this afternoon, especially along the St. Lawrence Seaway. Tomorrow will remain unsettled before it clears for Thursday. It looks like much warmer air is on the way for the last two weeks of the month. We are looking at daytime highs to rise to near or even above normal. Temperatures could approach 25 to 27C by early next week.

I was on the West Island of Montreal this past weekend. We are looking for a new home and planning a move. I took the above photo of the McGill Doppler Radar site in St. Anne de Bellevue. Some of the homes were very close to this site, and I love the idea of living within striking range of a Doppler radar site. We are even thinking of calling our new puppy Doppy!

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Sunshine east - snow west

The Canadian Empress out of Kingston, docked in Lachine yesterday on Lac St. Louis. It was a beautiful day for a cruise.

Yesterday may have been the nicest day of 2009 to date in Montreal and the area. We reached highs in the mid twenties, 24C in Montreal, and across eastern Ontario and the Quebec. The sunshine was brilliant and the winds were light. Today will be equally warm with a stray cloud or two, but an increasing southwest wind may make it feel a little cooler.

This is in stark contrast to the 10-20cm of wet snow falling across the Cypress Hills of southwest Saskatchewan and southeast Alberta. It has been very cold on the Prairies and this trend will continue into this coming week. Our fine weather will also come to an end early this week as low pressure moves into the area with rain on Tuesday and showers for the balance of the week.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

At left: From CBC.ca the Lillooet, B.C. fire continues to burn out of control in the hot and dry weather.

Pardon my absence, but where did this week go? I have been working nights, which should free up my days to blog, right? Well zzzzzzzzz, sorry there I go again. It has been a silly week, but I did have an interview today for a real job, and hopefully that will work out.

Now, the weather. It has been a decent week. Still cool, as a matter of fact we are still talking about the risk of frost tonight across the Townships, and in parts of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains, despite it being June 4. By my count we have had zero thunderstorms in the Montreal area so far this spring, but I may have missed one at 2am or so. This is a very chilly start to the summer season, but warmer weather is in sight as we head to the middle of the month. Today was a great early June day, still breezy and below normal with a high of 20C but nice nonetheless. The weekend looks spectacular with bright sunshine and temperatures between 20 and 23C. There is just a slight risk of a thunderstorm or shower late Saturday.

The weather in the rest of Canada has been interesting to say the least. It has been torrid in BC with nearly 17 record highs set Tuesday alone including a sweltering 35.8 in Lytton. The hot and dry weather has created numerous fires, some that are burning out of control. Low pressure moving across the Rockies should cool the area starting tomorrow. That same low pressure will bring rain to the southern Rockies and Alberta. the rain may change to a June snowfall late Friday and overnight. Some areas in the foothills could see up to 5cm of wet snow. Yes it is June.