Tornado warnings, watches end in most parts of eastern Ontario and Gatineau

CBC
·1-min read
A thunderstorm in downtown Ottawa in 2018. Thunderstorm and tornado watches were issued for most of the region late Monday morning. (Ian Black/CBC - image credit)
A thunderstorm in downtown Ottawa in 2018. Thunderstorm and tornado watches were issued for most of the region late Monday morning. (Ian Black/CBC - image credit)

The latest:

  • Most tornado warnings, watches downgraded by Monday evening. 

  • Tornado watch remains for Prescott and Russell United Counties and Cornwall, Ont., areas.

  • A severe thunderstorm watch covers the rest of western Quebec.

  • There are no alerts for western parts of the region such as Pembroke and Belleville.

A tornado watch issued by Environment Canada for most parts of eastern Ontario and Gatineau, Que., throughout Monday afternoon has ended.

By early Monday evening, only the areas in and around Cornwall and Prescott and Russell United Counties in Ontario had active tornado watches.

An Environment Canada meteorologist confirmed a tornado touched down in Rigaud, Que., at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, causing some damage to homes. The city is near the Ontario border, next to Prescott and Russell United Counties.

Earlier tornado warnings for areas in upper Gatineau, specifically around Papineauville and Chénéville in western Quebec, and have also been downgraded.

Tornado watches mean conditions are favourable for possible tornadoes, while tornado warnings mean a tornado has been reported or there's good evidence one is imminent.

Advice in case of a tornado includes staying away from exterior walls and windows, ideally in a basement or on the ground floor, and getting out of vehicles.

Other risks from the storms include wind gusts up to 90 kilometres an hour, hail and heavy rain, according to the forecast. There's no more specific timeline for the line or cluster of storms to hit than the afternoon.

There is also a severe thunderstorm watch for the rest of western Quebec. It too says strong winds, heavy rain and hail are possible this afternoon and evening and mentions storms like this can sometimes produce a tornado.

There are currently no alerts for the westernmost parts of eastern Ontario such as Bancroft, Belleville and Pembroke. Some of those areas had tornado warnings last week.

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