If you live in southwestern Ontario and you are a big fan of thunder and lightning, you should be in for a treat this month.
After multiple tornado warnings closed out July, Environment Canada forecasters say you can expect to see more storms across the region in August.
Meteorologist Gerald Cheng says there may be some breaks for a few days here and there, but scattered thunderstorms will likely continue in the coming weeks.
"After that heat wave in the beginning of July, we had a bit of a dry spell and everybody was complaining about not getting enough rain, and suddenly the pattern changed," says Cheng. "A lot of humidity and heat are building back in, especially for the first little bit of August and... those are the necessary ingredients for thunderstorm development."
Cheng adds the region may get some relief, but it's expected to be short-lived.
"What I see is that maybe you get a few days that's fair and then after those few days of fair and dry weather, you'll get back into the showers and thunderstorms," says Cheng. "That seems to be the pattern that will persist into mid-August."
So far, no one from southwestern Ontario has reported any significant damage from the tornado warnings or the funnel clouds that were spotted in Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent, and Elgin County over the past week.
A waterspout was recorded on Lake Erie south of Clearville Sunday morning. You can read more about that by clicking here.
Anyone with photos or video of the storms is still encouraged to send them along to Environment Canada.
While tornadoes may also provoke a stronger reaction than thunderstorms, Cheng is also reminding the public that lightning, strong winds, heavy rain, and hail -- all associated with powerful thunderstorms -- can also be very dangerous.
"A thunderstorm doesn't have to be severe to cause a lot of grief," says Cheng. "Lightning can be fatal and we advise people to keep checking the forecast so that when there's a risk of a thunderstorm, they have a plan ready... and when there's thunder and lightning already, they need to seek shelter."