Dismal weather - first Quebec tornado of 2014

It has been a bizarre spring with highly variable weather across all of North America. Tornadoes, a Pacific hurricane, dust storms, hailstorms, snow, heat and cold all in the same month. I snapped this photo of rare, at least to Montreal, Mammatus clouds over L'Ile Perrot early on the morning of May 16.  (ValleyWX Photo)

 Weather is all about balance and the desire for the atmosphere to reach it. It rarely happens and so we are left with such variable weather conditions, at times over a very small region. Such has been the case this week as a backdoor cold front robbed Montreal of what was to be a sunny and warm start to the week. That weather remained close by in Ontario, and all we managed was 22C (72F) Monday, and a pathetic 12C (54F) on Tuesday. Most of the day was spent around 9C (48F) with light rain. If I sound bitter, that is because I am. I love summer, winter is way too long. Enough of this pseudo spring/summer we need the real thing! The west end of Montreal towards the Ontario border had scattered thunderstorms late yesterday, including one on L'Ile Perrot right around 6pm last evening. At one point yesterday afternoon, Montreal was 10C (50F), Ottawa 21C (70F) and Toronto 30C (86F). This morning we are looking at October like weather with drizzle, low clouds and a cool northeast wind. Temperatures are at 10C, the hope is some breaks in the sun this afternoon will help warm things up towards 17C. Skies should clear out tonight with a chilly low of 8C. That will leave us under sunny skies Thursday and a warmer high of 21C.

The first tornado of the season in Quebec occurred near Roxton Falls on Monday. The image above was taken near Laurierville. (Quebec Vortex.com Photo)

First 2014 Quebec Tornado
Along the boundary between this cold front and the warm air was a line of redeveloping thunderstorms, often running over the same area the last two days. The strong storms prompted a tornado warning in central Vermont on Tuesday. Speaking of which on Monday, southern Quebec reported its first tornado of 2014. A thunderstorm produced a weak EF-0 tornado (winds between 104 and 137km/h) near Roxton Falls, Quebec in the Townships. Environment Canada reported minor damage including a roof torn off a barn. Another tornado may have also touched down near Laurierville, but has yet to be confirmed. The storm was tracked by Quebec Vortex storm chaser, Marc Remillard. (See photo above).