Tornado touches down in Quebec's Montérégie region, damaging homes

A tornado touched down in Rigaud, Que., late Monday afternoon, causing some damage to homes.

Maxime Desharnais, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the tornado touched down at around 5:30 p.m. Rigaud is about 70 kilometres west of Montreal, near the Ontario border.

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The event was confirmed after video of the tornado was submitted to Environment Canada, said Desharnais. The footage shows a roof being blown from a house.

Geneviève Hamel, a spokesperson for the city of Rigaud, said three homes were damaged in the municipality. Quebec provincial police say no injuries have been reported yet.

Julie Lemieux, the mayor of nearby Très-Saint-Rédempteur, Que., said one house and another building in her town were heavily damaged. There have also been power outages there due to downed wires. There were no injuries, she said.

Pascale Monteseno owns Ferme de Pointe-Fortune with her husband in Pointe-Fortune, just north of Très-Saint-Rédempteur. Their barn and other structures were damaged.

It all happened in a matter of seconds, she said.

"I was doing the dishes and we saw a lot of wind for a second and it was really heavy. I saw the horses in the back freaking out, running in circles and then they went in the barn," she said.

"We looked out front, and saw things flying through the garden. Then my husband ran outside and he saw the roof of the barn was gone."

She said her kids were safe in the basement and nobody got hurt, and that the mayor stopped by as well as emergency responders. She said it was their first tornado.

"My kids are a bit freaked out right now, but they're OK," said Monteseno. "We're fine. Everybody is safe. So that's good. We're lucky nothing bad happened."

Peter Dunn was at home Monday, about two kilometres away from the tornado, when he decided to record it.

Having witnessed violent storms in agricultural lands for 30 years, he said he was surprised to see how quiet the tornado was. 

"It's very strange and frightening and, you know, exhilarating all at the same time," he said. "There was no lightning. There was actually not even any rain. And then I just saw this tornado touch down." 

Dunn said the quietness of the tornado makes heeding environmental warnings and keeping an eye on the sky all the more important.  

"If you happen to just be under it and it, you know, it comes in your path, you're doomed," he added.

At this time, Environment Canada is unable to determine the strength of the tornado and further assessment is needed, Desharnais said, but it is not expected that the situation will worsen.

As the daytime heat, which fuels such weather events, starts to dissipate, the conditions should begin to improve, Desharnais said. The dropping temperatures will help mitigate the risk of further tornado activity, he said.

Several hours before the tornado touched down, tornado warnings were downgraded to watches for upper Gatineau and Prescott and Russell United Counties.

Montreal has been under a severe thunderstorm watch Monday afternoon, with strong winds and rain blowing into the region. That watch covers much of southwestern Quebec to the Ontario border.

There were severe thunderstorm warnings issued for the Laurentians and parts of the Outaouais region earlier Monday.

Lemieux said this is the first time in recent memory that a tornado has touched down in Très-Saint-Rédempteur.

"Climate change is having a major impact on civil security," said Lemieux. "We have to be ready and have a plan. That's the case for all municipalities in Canada."