Thunderstorm Risk Shifts East on Thursday With Severe Storms Possible in Central Ontario & Ottawa Valley
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The recent intense heatwave in Southern Ontario is coming to an end, but not without some thunderstorm activity. This has caused a noticeable cooldown in Southwestern Ontario and around the Golden Horseshoe. As a result, Environment Canada has lifted the heat warning for many regions in Southern Ontario. However, part of Eastern Ontario is still experiencing hot weather and the warning remains in place for them for one more day.
Similar to yesterday, relief from the warm temperatures will come in the form of isolated pop-up thunderstorms throughout the afternoon and early evening hours. The focus of this activity will be from just north of the GTA through Lake Simcoe and up into Central Ontario. Later in the day, the Ottawa Valley could also see some storm activity.
While these storms are expected to remain non-severe for the most part, the environment is favourable for a few isolated storms to reach severe levels. The main risks include 90 km/h wind gusts and hail up to the size of quarters. An isolated tornado can’t be ruled out, but the risk is fairly low. If there is a tornado risk, it will likely be highest around the Lake Simcoe and Bancroft area.
The storm risk is expected to come to an end by later this evening. In the wake of the storms, we will see much cooler air flow in overnight with parts of Central Ontario potentially touching the upper single digits by Friday morning. This will set the stage for a much cooler weekend with weather more usual for this time of the year.
