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Late-winter thunderstorms could signal a drastic temperature change in communities such as Ottawa, Cornwall and La Pêche Monday afternoon.
Environment Canada has a severe thunderstorm watch in place four days before the start of spring. It stretches north, east and south from the capital.
The storm could bring strong wind, heavy rain, hail and lightning, according to forecasters.
Some places in the watch could see daily heat records before the cold front whips up conditions for the storm.
Ottawa, for example, could go from around 0 C at 5 a.m. Monday to 14 C at 5 p.m. and back around –5 C by 5 a.m. The cold should stick around Tuesday and Wednesday.
Watches mean severe weather is possible. A warning means forecasters have evidence that weather is happening or about to happen.
The Kingston-Belleville area could see gusts around 80 km/h starting Monday afternoon and ending Tuesday morning, according to an Environment Canada special weather statement.
There are orange-level storm warnings for the Barrie and Sudbury areas not far to the west.
