First snow?

It was -36.1C in Edmonton on Sunday morning. The city is in the grips of an early cold snap after a 15cm snowstorm on Thursday. (CTV.ca)

What a bizarre fall this has been. I would not have bet that New York City and Vancouver would have measurable snow before Montreal, but both cities have. Vancouver recorded up to 5cm over the weekend. Many portions of Canada are already recording mid-winter weather including Edmonton where a new record low was established over the weekend at an incredible -36.1C. That is cold anytime of the year folks, but in November, really? The good news for the west is that a moderation in temperatures will begin today and highs will likely nudge above the freezing point by Tuesday for a day or two before more cold air arrives by the end of the week.

SNOW for MONTREAL: For us here in Montreal we had a rather balmy, docile weekend. Temperatures remained well above normal with highs of 10C on Saturday and 13C yesterday, both well above normal, today, not so warm. A cold front swept the area on Sunday with gusty winds, brief showers and dropping temperatures. We are sitting at the coldest morning so far this fall with -5C in Montreal but as cold as -10C just north of the city and -7C in Ottawa. We will not make it above freezing today. This will set the stage for perhaps and interesting 24 hours of weather beginning late Tuesday. Low pressure organizing over the southern plains is forecast to pass just south of Montreal over New England by Wednesday morning. Initial model runs had the storm too far south to affect us, but now it looks like the track will send a swath of precipitation over the St. Lawrence Valley. It will likely be cold enough at first for snow and freezing rain for Ottawa and Montreal late Tuesday and into Wednesday morning before a transition to rain from the city south. We are not looking at big amounts of precipitation, perhaps 5-10cm. However with it being the first taste of snow for the city, we all know what that means. I will update this later today, so check back. So far only a special weather statement has been issued for eastern Ontario for places like Cornwall and Ottawa for the wintry mix with perhaps up to 10cm of snow. Stay tuned.