Three tornadoes hit Quebec Wednesday, uprooting trees, damaging infrastructure

MONTREAL — Three tornadoes touched down on Quebec territory Wednesday, Environment Canada has confirmed, causing damage to trees and infrastructure and injuring at least one person.

A tornado formed in Montreal’s South Shore suburb of Brossard just before 8:15 p.m. and uprooted trees, overturned a semi-trailer truck and damaged infrastructure, the weather agency said. Tornadoes also hit St-Hippolyte, Que., located in the Laurentians region, and Cap-Santé, Que., west of the provincial capital.

Mélanie Mercille, spokesperson for police in Longueuil, Que., on Montreal’s South Shore, says the driver of the semi-trailer that overturned suffered minor injuries. There were no other reports of injuries, she added.

The storm that hit the South Shore Wednesday knocked out power to more than 3,500 customers, but electricity was almost fully restored by the following morning.

Meteorologist Michèle Fleury said the agency couldn’t provide wind speeds until damage to trees and other structures can be properly evaluated.

“Wind speed can only be estimated from the kind of damage that was produced,” Fleury said, explaining that researchers at Western University’s Northern Tornadoes Project will determine wind strength after assessing the health of the trees and the state of damaged structures in an affected area.

Earlier in the day, around 4 p.m., a tornado hit St-Hippolyte, uprooting trees and damaging infrastructure, Environment Canada said, adding that two-centimetre hail also fell on the area. Fleury called the damage to trees around St-Hippolyte “significant.”

In an email, the municipality of St-Hippolyte said a house caught fire when a tree fell on an electrical system.

As of 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, nearly 3,000 customers in the town were still without power, according to Hydro-Québec. On its Facebook page, the municipality asked residents to stay vigilant outdoors as Hydro-Québec workers remove trees and branches that fell on power cables.

As well, a third tornado touched down in the Cap-Santé area, located outside Quebec City, and a storm caused significant damage to a farm in nearby Portneuf, Que.

Environment Canada had originally issued a tornado warning for the area around the Laurentians towns of Lachute and St-Jérôme. Fleury says she was not expecting to see a tornado appear on Montreal’s South Shore, where there was a risk of tornado but where storm activity was less visible on radar.

“It took us a little bit by surprise but we did, however, forecast severe thunderstorms,” she said.

Heavy rain on Wednesday fell on other regions of Quebec, including Montreal, Lanaudière and Montérégie.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2024.

Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press