Tornado warnings, watches end in most parts of eastern Ontario and Gatineau

The latest:

• Most tornado warnings, watches downgraded by Monday evening.
• Tornado watch remains for Prescott and Russell United Counties and Cornwall, Ont., areas.
• A severe thunderstorm watch covers the rest of western Quebec.
• There are no alerts for western parts of the region such as Pembroke and Belleville.

A tornado watch issued by Environment Canadafor most parts ofeastern Ontario and Gatineau, Que., throughout Monday afternoon has ended.

By early Monday evening, only the areas in and around Cornwall and Prescott and Russell United Counties in Ontario hadactive tornado watches.

An Environment Canada meteorologist confirmed a tornado touched down in Rigaud, Que., at around 5:30 p.m.Monday,causing some damage to homes. The city is near the Ontario border, next to Prescott and Russell United Counties.

Earlier tornado warnings forareas in upper Gatineau, specifically aroundPapineauville andChnvillein western Quebec, and have also been downgraded.

WATCH | Tornado caught on camera in Rigaud, Que.:

Tornado sweeps across Rigaud, Que.

3 months ago

Duration 0:59

Residents on both sides of the Quebec-Ontario border were able to capture the May 27 twister in videos that are being shared on social media.

Tornado watches mean conditions are favourable for possible tornadoes, while tornado warnings mean a tornado has been reported or there's good evidence one is imminent.

Advice in case of a tornadoincludes staying away from exterior walls and windows, ideally in a basement or on the ground floor, and getting out of vehicles.

Other risks from the storms includewind gusts up to 90 kilometres an hour, hail and heavy rain, according to the forecast. There's no more specific timeline for the line or cluster of storms to hit than the afternoon.

There is also a severe thunderstorm watch for the rest of western Quebec. It too says strong winds, heavy rain and hailare possible this afternoon and eveningand mentions storms like this can sometimes produce a tornado.

There are currently no alerts for the westernmost parts of eastern Ontario such as Bancroft, Belleville and Pembroke. Some of those areas had tornado warnings last week.