Tornado warnings, watches end for most of eastern Ontario and Gatineau

The most recent:

• Most tornado warnings, watches downgraded through Monday night.

• A tornado watch remains in place for Prescott and Russell United counties and the 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 warning issued by Environment Canada for most of eastern Ontario and Gatineau, Que., through Monday afternoon has ended.

As of early Monday evening, only areas of Cornwall and surrounding Prescott and Russell United counties in Ontario had active tornado watches.

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

Earlier tornado warnings for areas of uptown Gatineau, particularly around Papineauville and Chénéville in western Quebec, were also downgraded.

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

Tornado advice includes staying away from exterior walls and windows, ideally in a basement or ground floor, and getting out of vehicles.

Other storm risks include wind gusts of up to 90 kilometers per hour, hail and heavy rain, according to the forecast. There is no more accurate timeline for the line or group of storms to hit than the afternoon.

There is also a strong storm watch for the rest of western Quebec. It also says strong winds, heavy rain and hail are possible this afternoon and evening, and mentions that 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.