A powerful storm sent trailers flying and tore roofs off some homes in Danville in Quebec's Eastern Townships on Thursday, dumping between 50 and 100 millimetres of rain in less than 20 minutes.

The municipality southeast of Drummondville was hit by a mesocyclone-type storm, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Resident Manon Provencher said it all happened "so fast."

"It was rumbling inside the house, clattering outside. I saw my patio furniture fly away," she said. "I was scared, I knew it wasn't normal."

ECCC hasn't yet ruled out a tornado, but the agency also pointed out that a mesocyclone could cause just as much damage.

A mesocyclone is a specific type of storm cell that includes rotation and can produce hail, strong winds and gusts up to 100 km/h, explained metereologist Julien Pellerin.

Martine Satre, Danville's mayor, confirmed that some roofs had been torn off and trailers flew away as a result of the high winds.

The storm occurred shortly before 4 p.m. and made its way toward Saint-Georges in Beauce, Que., at around 6 p.m.

Hail stones measuring between two and three centimetres in diameter in some areas and strong winds left significant damage.

Provencher and her partner, Marcel Côté, said it's the second time they've witnessed such weather in the area, but that the first time wasn't on such a scale.

Several thousand power outages were reported in the area as the mesocyclone passed through.