RIGAUD, QUE. – A suspected twister that touched down in southwestern Quebec late Monday afternoon has broken houses and farm buildings, however a neighborhood fireplace official stated no accidents have been reported.
Rigaud Fireplace Division appearing chief Guillaume Roy stated 4 houses had been broken, together with one whose roof was ripped off, and plenty of barns and grain silos had been broken, too.
“One storage disappeared and all of the chickens in it — we don’t know the place it went,” Roy stated in a telephone interview Monday night time.
He stated it was fortunate nobody was harm.
Julie Lemieux, the mayor of Très-Saint-Rédempteur, about eight kilometres southwest of Rigaud, stated in a Fb submit that an obvious twister had toppled bushes and knocked out energy within the space and Hydro-Québec crews had been working to revive it.
The mayor suggested residents to stay cautious as one other storm cell was anticipated to cross by means of the area later Monday night time.
Setting Canada meteorologist Jean-Philippe Start stated a extreme thunderstorm was passing by means of the Rigaud space on the time. He stated the climate company has acquired picture and video submissions from the general public that present harm in addition to what seems to be a twister shifting throughout a area, however he stated they gained’t be confirming it was really a twister till an additional investigation is full.
“I might say it’s doubtless a twister — very doubtless a twister — as a result of we acknowledge the panorama on some photos, so these photographs have been taken in Rigaud,” Start stated.
The investigation, Start stated, can be carried out along side the College of Western Ontario’s Northern Tornadoes Challenge, which late Monday night time concluded that primarily based on witness video and photos, a twister had occurred close to Rigaud.
The submit additionally famous that there are reviews of harm extending to the southwest of Rigaud approaching the Ontario boundary.
“An NTP harm survey group will start an investigation tomorrow,” the submit stated.
Roy stated a house in Très-Saint-Rédempteur, which is a part of his division’s protection space, was the primary place firefighters had been referred to as at 5:33 p.m. A roof on a home there may be gone, he stated, and the storage “flew away.”
Minutes later, three extra homes had been hit because the twister progressed in the direction of Rigaud after which later within the route of Pointe-Fortune. It appeared a roof had been torn from a barn, whereas one other barn’s roof was partially collapsed, he stated.
Roy stated quite a few bushes and energy strains had been down, too.
Start stated Might is the start of extreme climate season in Quebec, with July seeing essentially the most motion.
“The busiest months are forward of us, so June, July, August and September are busier months than Might. So it’s solely the start,” Start stated.
Characteristic picture: Storm clouds transfer throughout the sky as Setting Canada issued twister warnings Thursday, July 13, 2023 in Montreal. Researchers at Western College say two tornados struck southern Quebec throughout a serious thunderstorm final week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
