A tornado watch was issued Thursday for several areas of southern Quebec where strong winds, large hail and heavy rain could also occur.
Posted at 12:19 p.m.
These are the regions of Gatineau, Haute-Gatineau – Lièvre – Papineau, Lachute – Saint-Jérôme, Lanaudière, Laurentides, Mont-Laurier, Mont-Tremblant Park – Saint-Michel-des-Saints and the Pontiac.
“Conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms that could produce tornadoes this afternoon. Strong winds, large hail and heavy rain are also possible. This is a dangerous situation that could cause fatal injuries,” Environment Canada said in a notice issued at 9:22 a.m. Thursday.
The federal agency recalls that a tornado watch is issued when atmospheric conditions are conducive to the formation of such severe weather phenomena.
The next highest alert level is an “alert”. It is therefore recommended that people go inside, in the room at the lowest possible level, away from windows and outside walls.
Several regions targeted by Thursday’s watch notice are barely recovering from another powerful storm that occurred on May 28, which then deprived 550,000 Hydro-Québec customers of electricity.