Strong storms, shelf clouds hit Ontario. Here's what's next

Saturday, July 9, 2016, 2:12 PM - Several days of extreme heat were capped off by powerful thunderstorms in southern Ontario Friday.

Central and southwestern parts of the area, particularly the Lake Huron shores and cottage country, saw the most severe storms.

Markdale in Bruce County saw golfball-sized hail, Ajax and Oshawa saw 35 mm of rain in only 15 minutes, and severe tree damage was reported in Muskoka.

Visually, the storms were impressive, showing shelf cloud features in some areas.

Hydro One said early Saturday it had restored power to more than 16,000 customers overnight, and expected to have the remaining 23,000 outages mostly restored through the day.

Saturday, meanwhile, is looking somewhat unsettled. The Greater Toronto Area should see some sunshine, though cottage country will be mostly cloudy with some showers.

In eastern Ontario, there is a slight risk of storms in the afternoon, though nothing like the strong storms of Friday.

As of Saturday afternoon, Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of eastern Ontario including, Kingston and Smith Falls.

"Conditions are favourable for the development of dangerous thunderstorms that may be capable of producing strong wind gusts, damaging hail and torrential rain," says the agency.

"As the system pulls out, gusty winds will move into southern Ontario Saturday night into Sunday as a high moves in from lake Michigan," Weather Network meteorologist Kevin MacKay said Saturday. "Gusts of 40-50 km/h are expected.

Compared to the just-passed extreme heat episode, the weekend will be cooler, and humidity will continue to drop before bottoming out Monday.

"Thanks to the system developing in the U.S. Midwest, we will see another heat-up into midweek, with a return to the humidity by Wednesday," MacKay says. "Parts of southern Ontario could see four days above 30^oC."

WATCH: Protect your pets from the heat: