Rainy weekend - Ontario & Quebec

Damage was minimal after Hurricane Ernesto came ashore on the Yucatan on Wednesday morning. The storm will make a second landfall today near Veracruz on the Mexican mainland. Ernesto has 70mph winds this morning.

After what has been a hot and very dry summer across Ontario and Quebec, it looks like a soaking rain is on tap for the weekend. I realize the timing could not be worse with so few summer weekends left, but we really need the water. Aside from lawns drying up in Montreal, water levels on the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers remain dangerously low. This is a threat to navigation, and has already forced water restrictions due to a drop in available drinking water. Most areas around L'Ile Perrot and Vaudreuil/Dorion, continue a watering and outdoor burning ban.

We are looking at clouds but muggy and warm weather today, touching 27C (81F). A weak cold front will slide south of the border and remain nearly stationary across southern Vermont. Low pressure will ride along that front on Friday into Saturday with a period of steady rain and embedded thunderstorms. Amounts could exceed 30mm with as much as 60mm locally. This would represent nearly all the rain for most areas that has fallen since June. At Trudeau in Montreal we have had a little over 16mm this month, about 0.5 inch with most of that falling in one thunderstorm. Areas around us have not been so lucky with numerous communities reporting nothing. This is very true across eastern Ontario south of the Ottawa Valley. Showers will linger into Sunday. Sadly the weekend looks like a washout at this time.