Montrealers never received a warning before the deluge which left up to 80 mm of rain in certain neighborhoods on Tuesday since meteorologists were “taken by surprise” by the phenomenon.
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“We were on the verge of sending a warning for Montreal, but we don’t want to do it when we are not sure. It was a surprise,” admits Frédérick Boulay, meteorologist at Environment Canada.
The specialist specifies that his organization had forecast between 35 and 45 mm of rain in the metropolis before the deluge. However, the minimum threshold for issuing a warning at Environment Canada is 50 mm.
“Finally, stations yesterday recorded up to 80 mm of rain in two hours in eastern Montreal. […] Normally, we receive about 83 mm of rain for the whole month of September, ”says Mr. Boulay with astonishment.
Thierry Laforce / QMI Agency
Notified 30 mins later
The meteorologist adds that a warning was finally issued around 5:30 p.m. in Montreal, 30 minutes after the torrential downpours began.
“After 15 mm of rain, we saw that the quantities rose visibly. At that time, the warning was sent. […] The precipitation was mainly expected west of Montreal at the start of the day, ”explains to the Journal Frédérick Boulay.
But why haven’t Environment Canada experts sent an alert to mobile devices to warn residents of at-risk areas? “It’s a system used for rare cases where people’s lives are in danger. For example, during a tornado,” it says.
“Storm Convergence”
Unlike Montreal, the cities of Lachute, Mirabel, Joliette and L’Assomption were all “under a heavy rain warning” Tuesday morning.
“We saw a convergence of storms over the metropolis. And then it gave more precipitation than expected. This is the reason why we had more than 45 mm of rain”, summarizes the meteorologist.
SIDNEY DAGENAIS/QMI AGENCY
More fear than harm
Remember that the deluge caused headaches for Montrealers yesterday. Several videos showing sewer back-ups, flooding and the interruption of part of the metro quickly went viral on social media.
For its part, Urgence-Santé confirms to the Journal that they did not need to intervene during the floods yesterday.
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) mentions that the metro network is now operating “normally”.
“Yesterday’s heavy rains left no significant damage [sur le réseau]according to verifications carried out, “says Philippe Déry, spokesperson for the STM.