Much colder

Snow pours through the roof of the Metrodome in Minneapolis after a blizzard hit the upper Midwest Saturday. (FOX)

8:51 AM Update: The cold front is moving through the Montreal area at this hour and rain has already changed to snow. We will rapidly drop to -5C by mid afternoon. Roads will become slippery with dropping temperatures and falling snow across the entire region.

The pressure in Montreal dropped as low as 985mb with this current storm system as it passed very close to the city overnight. The system will lift into central Quebec this morning with a strong cold front passing across the city this morning. Winds will increase out of the west and temperatures will drop rapidly below freezing. In Ontario the temperature in Kemptville has dropped from 0C at 3am to -6C by 7am. The temperature is 3C at 8am in Montreal but will begin dropping shortly and reach -8C by Tuesday morning. The same is true all along the 401 corridor as deep arctic air moves into the area. Rain has changed to snow and roads are very slippery. Closer to the lakes, the snow machine will crank up with a major lake effect snow event forecast for western New York and central Ontario into Wednesday. Meanwhile snow on the back edge of the departing storm will give Montreal and most of New York and Vermont anywhere from 5-15cm over the next 24 hours. The snow will be enhanced by wrap around moisture from the Atlantic. The National Weather Service has posted a Winter Weather Advisory for upstate New York and Vermont. Falling temperatures, gusty winds and snow will make travel poor by late afternoon today.

Yesterday Montreal recorded 22.2 mm of precipitation with 7cm of that being snow. The same storm dumped heavy snow on the Midwest including 17 inches in Minneapolis. The weight of the snow caused a large tear in the roof of the Metrodome (see above) forcing cancellation of the Giants and Vikings NFL game. The game will be played in Detroit this evening. Snow and strong winds caused travel delays from Illinois east to New York and southwest Ontario on Sunday.

Cold air has poured into the deep south with Atlanta at -4C (21F) this morning, much colder than Quebec, and snow as far south as northern Georgia.