Damaging winds for Montreal

NOAA water vapor image of powerful low pressure moving north up the Hudson Valley, (dry slot in the middle of the image) towards Montreal this morning.

A high wind warning remains in effect for the entire region this morning. Winds have been gusting in excess of 100km/h across the Eastern Townships into Vermont overnight. In Montreal, gusts have been up to 60km/h, but they will increase towards 90km/h this morning. Deep low pressure will move north from the Hudson Valley towards Massena, New York today and into western Quebec tonight. Extremely low barometric pressure readings have been occurring across our area, with 977mb here at my home on L'Ile Perrot and 972mb at Ottawa. This represents the lowest pressure of the year for L'Ile Perrot. Also, the pressure has fallen 20mb since midnight, indicating just how strong this storm is. Southeast winds and a dry slot cut off precipitation here in Montreal overnight, with 25 to 30mm recorded. On the cold side of the storm in Ottawa, heavy rain fell all night, with in excess of 50mm falling. The weather is also very warm in Montreal this morning. With a temperature of 19C (66F) at 6am, Montreal is the warmest location in the country.

Storm damage in New England overnight. (NBCCT)

The wind has caused widespread damage and power outages across New England and Quebec. In Quebec, Hydro is reporting 157,000 customers without power as of 7am. That number will only grow as the strongest winds move into metro Montreal.

As the storm moves north of Montreal today, winds will shift to the southwest and west and eventually diminish a little by evening. Temperatures will also drop rapidly today back into the single digits. Showers, some heavy are expected through early afternoon.