Major Storm for Valley

A Winter Storm Watch is now in effect for the entire area. Snow will overspread the region on Thursday from a developing low pressure area over the Midwest. It appears the heaviest snow will fall along the St. Lawrence Valley in Ontario, Quebec and New York with over 20cm expected. Gusty east winds will cause blowing snow. Temperatures will be mild so the snow will be wet and heavy. There is a risk of some sleet and freezing rain as well.

Travel will be very poor on Friday. Plan accordingly. More updates to follow....use the links along the side as well.

Storm by weeks end for
Ontario & Quebec

Low pressure developing over the US Midwest is expected to track towards the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes by Thursday and Friday. Snow, sleet and freezing rain in important quantities can be expected in the Seaway Valley, Ottawa and Montreal. A Special Weather Statement has been posted.

The storms exact track is still in question, but plan for poor travel in New England, New York, Ontario and southwest Quebec Thursday through Saturday morning. I will update this weather early Wednesday morning.

This is what 20 inches of snow looks like!

I took this in the border town of

Champlain, NY on Saturday.

Blame it on Alberta or thank them....

A series of Alberta Clippers and a flattened jet stream is calming the weather picture and moderating the temperatures in Ontario and Quebec. Much milder air is streaming northward in advance of the clippers - warming temperatures by as much as 20 degrees since yesterday morning. It is the first mild air in almost a month. A little light precipitation is occurring, patchy at best. A stronger clipper will dump 5-10cm of snow across the area Thursday.

The weekend will be excellent but a storm is moving in for late Sunday and Monday...more on that later.

Avalanche Risk High

You do not usually associate this with the Adirondacks, Green Mountains or the Townships, but this is good advice for anyone venturing into those areas this weekend...

937 AM EST THU FEB 15 2007...RISK FOR AVALANCHES IN THE NORTH COUNTRY...YESTERDAYS RECORD SNOWFALL HAS CREATED THE POTENTIAL FOR AVALANCHES IN THE BACK COUNTRY OF THE GREEN MOUNTAINS IN VERMONT AND THE ADIRONDACKS IN NORTHERN NEW YORK...ACCORDING TO STOWE MOUNTAIN RESCUE OFFICIALS. OUTDOOR ENTHUSIASTS HEADING INTO THE BACK COUNTRY THROUGH THE WEEKEND NEED TO BE AWARE OF THE AVALANCHE DANGER...AND RISKS INVOLVED. STEEP...OPEN SLOPES WILL HAVE THE HIGHEST AVALANCHE RISK. THE CONDITIONS CREATING THE AVALANCHE POTENTIAL WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. IF YOU GO INTO THE ADIRONDACKS OR GREEN MOUNTAINS TO SNOWSHOE...SKI...OR ICE CLIMB...BE AWARE OF THE AVALANCHE DANGER...AND TAKE APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS.

Waterbury, Vermont-from my weather pal Jesse at AccuWeather.com

Weather bubble holds
Storm blasts some areas...not us

Well what can I say, once again the Kemptville weather bubble held. While areas all around us received heavy snow, we had the typical angel dust all day. Check out Waterbury/Stowe Vermont above....love that place! May move there one day!



The following is a partial preliminary list of amounts so far.

Kemptville 5cm at MNR building -
but this is too low I recorded at least double that around 10cm and another 2 or so overnight.
Montreal 15cm
Ottawa 12-17cm
Cornwall 25cm
Quebec City 25-40cm
Hamilton, ON 46cm
Sherbrooke, QC 50cm
Waterbury, Vermont 60cm



Winds will remain gusty today all areas with blowing snow. Travel slowly roads are still snow covered and icy.

Storm contiues....

Here is the latest.....

Blizzard Warning for all of New England and northern New York except the St. Lawrence Valley which is under a Winter Storm Warning, as is Eastern Ontario and southern Quebec.

Snow and blowing snow will continue till midnight with the heaviest snow south and east of Kemptville. Warnings were extended to Ottawa and Smiths Falls this afternoon. For all these regions close to 20cm will be on the ground.

For Cornwall and Montreal the snow will be more in the 30cm range.

For the Eastern Townships, Adirondacks, Green Mountains and Champlain Valley 40-60cm

Travel is not advised here where blizzard conditions are occurring.

Of Note Logan in Boston, La Guardia, JFK and Midway are closed according to FAA.COM - Elsewhere flights have been canceled in Toronto and Montreal, call ahead first.

Storm digs in

The big winter storm is reorganizing rapidly off the New Jersey coast this afternoon. Snow has been falling lightly in Kemptville all day, with winds slowly increasing. This trend will continue all afternoon. I am happy with the 15-20cm prediction for our area. Amounts and winds will increase rapidly as you head south and east. Montreal can expect at least 30cm of snow.
Radar returns are showing snow along I-87 and I-89 at 5-10cm per hour! Forecasters have a Blizzard Warnings posted and travel is not advised.
Burlington was down to a 1/4 mile visibility in heavy snow at noon. This will continue well into the overnight period with winds increasing to 30-60km/h an higher.

Travel with great care today roads through out the region are snow covered.

All Buses Cancelled in Leeds/Grenville
Valentines Day Storm

The snow began in Kemptville in the pre-dawn hours and is expected to last all day. The culprit is low pressure near Kentucky this morning and a secondary powerful storm developing off Cape Hatteras. As the second storm moves north the snow will become heavy over New England, New York and the St. Lawrence Valley.

At present over 20cm is expected in Kemptville and Montreal. This amount will easily be reached in Montreal and even more to the south. In New England 1-2 feet is forecast with travel not recommended.

Winter Storm Warnings are posted for all areas except metro Ottawa.
Blizzard Warnings are posted for all of New England and northern New York

Be very safe and travel wisely today......

Warnings Extended to Montreal and Kemptville
Major Storm heads for area

A powerful winter storm from the US Midwest will slide south of the area tomorrow and deepen rapidly off the Atlantic Coast. The storm will interact with the arctic air over our area and produce a wide swath of heavy snow. Heavy Snow and blowing snow warnings are now in effect for all of Upstate New York, Northern New England and southern Quebec and Ontario, including Kemptville, the Seaway Valley and Montreal.
The snow will begin after midnight tonight in our area and taper off late Wednesday. During the entire event it will remain bitterly cold with strong northeast winds over 50km/h. Near blizzard conditions will occur in may areas. Storm totals will be from 15-30cm in Ontario and Quebec and 30-60cm in New England and New York.

Avoid all unnecessary travel tomorrow along the 401/20 corridor.....stay tuned.

Heavy Snow Ontario-Quebec-New York

The winter storm sweeping into Ontario from the Midwest US will arrive in our area tonight. Snow accompanied by gusty winds and very cold temperatures will develop by evening and continue into Wednesday. The heaviest snow will fall along and south of the St. Lawrence River. Ottawa is expecting 10cm with Kemptville and Montreal around 15cm. Over 20cm will fall in New York State with as much as 40cm in the Adirondacks. This will be a very cold storm with winds of 30-50km/h and very cold wind chills. Travel will be difficult in many areas beginning tonight. The storm will arrive today in southwest Ontario so travel there will be bad today.

Heavy Snow Warning: New York/Vermont
Winter Storm Warning: South Shore of Montreal and Eastern Townships

Above: Over 10 feet!!! of snow has fallen in Mexico, NY in Oswego County.

More is on the way!

BIG Storm for
Great Lakes and St. Lawrence

Winter Storm Watches are flying over parts of Ontario and New York and will be extended into Eastern Ontario and Quebec tomorrow. The culprit is a major storm developing along the southern jet stream that will collide with this arctic air mass over our area. The result will be snow spreading from west to east across Ontario on Tuesday. It will continue into Wednesday combined with blustery east winds and biting cold. A general 15-30cm could fall across the watch area by Wednesday night. As the forecast track becomes more clear, the watches may be upgraded. Travel along the 401 corridor and south into the US will be very difficult tomorrow and Wednesday. The snow will taper off late Wednesday in Ontario.

• Yesterday strong southwest winds gusted over 60km/h and created blowing snow across area roads. Several accidents were reported.

The picture below is SD&G County Road 1.

State of Emergency

Declared in Oswego County

• In response to the more than 6 feet of snow that has buried Oswego, New York, the county has declared a State of Emergency at 9:15 this morning. The snow has been relentless since the weekend and another 1-2 feet is expected by late Friday. The snow has closed schools, businesses and roads. The declaration will allow for help to pour into the area to help with the clean up and aftermath.
• The snow and cold is a result of strong winds passing over the warmer Lake Ontario waters. The same is occurring north of the border off Lake Huron in places like Wiarton and Owen Sound.
• Elsewhere flurries and gusty winds are creating dangerous wind chills. The snow has been blamed on 16 deaths south of the border. On its closest approach to the Seaway and Kemptville, the snow reached only from Brockville to southern St. Lawrence County and the western Adirondacks, but no further north and east this week.

More squalls for
Upstate New York and Ontario

A heavy snowsquall this afternoon is brushing Prince Edward County with 15-25cm of snow. Travel is difficult in that area and along the adjacent 401. Snowy cold weather will continue in these areas. Elsewhere cold, and blustery weather with a few flurries will occur across eastern Ontario and Quebec.

If you are travelling south of the border down Interstate 81, keep in mind that travel in that area is difficult as well. A persistent snow band about 10 miles wide is moving north again into Jefferson County. It may affect Watertown again. Watertown received almost 30 inches of snow Friday through Sunday. Portions of I-81 were closed stranding travellers at the Salmon Run Mall. The same can be expected tonight. Go inland around this area if you can.

This pattern is expected to continue into the weekend. Stay tuned for more information - but travel with great care around any of the Great Lakes for the next few days.

No Shadow for Phil or Willie

Despite the snow squalls, biting cold and blizzards this week, both Phil and Willie expect an early spring. I on the other hand disagree, but what do I know!

Greetings from Punxsutawney!
Phil Says Spring is Right Around the Corner!
Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/07 at 7:28 a.m. at Gobbler's Knob:

El Nino has caused high winds, heavy snow,

ice and freezing temperatures in the west.

Here in the East with much mild winter weather we have been blessed.
Global warming has caused a great debate.

This mild winter makes it seem just great.
On this Groundhog Day we think of one thing.

Will we have winter or will we have spring?
On Gobbler's Knob I see no shadow today.

I predict that early spring is on the way.

And from Willie......

There was no shadow on the ground

Which means that spring will come around.

Flowers will bloom and life will begin

The waters will warm then we can jump in.

Children will laugh as they learn to ride

Boaters will rise and fall with the tide

The golfers appear out on the greens

People line up to taste new ice creams.

A warm breeze will brush on your cheek

The waters will rise on some of the creeks

Farmers will plant their first set of crops

Windows and doors will open on shops

The Town of South Bruce Peninsula is worth driving to

If your looking for springtime activities to do.

Ride a horse, catch a fish, hike the trails, if you can.

So many things to do you might need a plan.

If you don’t have time to enjoy everything.

Feel free to visit again in the spring.

There’s plenty to do throughout the whole year.

Especially now that spring time is near!

C. Wyonch

Downtown Kemptville at 9am today

Warnings issued for Merrickville & Kemptville
Squalls affecting Kemptville and 401


A series of snow squalls riding on moist southwest winds off Lake Ontario is currently affecting Leeds and Grenville Counties. A Snow Squall Warning has been posted for the counties bordering Lakes Ontario & Erie as far east as the 416 and north as Kemptville. All highways in the area are snow covered and visibility is poor in blowing snow. The squalls should last most of the day and will accumulate 10-15cm locally. This will be followed by another system giving another 5-8cm of snow on Friday. More cold arctic air will plunge south over the weekend and into next week.