Cold start - warming trend for Montreal

The current Nor'Easter will impact areas of the Jersey Shore destroyed by Sandy last week. As you can see there is no dune left along large portions of the coast making them vulnerable to tidal flooding.

It is another chilly morning in southern Quebec and across eastern Ontario with temperatures around -5C on average but as cold as -10C in Sherbrooke and -7C in Kemptville, ON. Today will feature more sun than cloud and as a result temperatures should warm up a little into the 3 to 5C range (38-42F). Our first snow of the season will have to wait as that coastal storm takes a path further out in the Atlantic. The western edge of the precipitation will only make it into eastern Vermont, with about 5cm (2 inches) forecast there. Along the coast a soaking rain with a driving wind up to 50mph along with some snow just inland will be the main features with this storm. Not a big storm, but enough to make it miserable for the continuing clean up efforts from Sandy. Power is still out for up to half a million residents one week after Sandy's wrath. So it will be another dark and cold night in portions of New Jersey and metro New York.

Looking ahead the weather will improve over our regions into the first half of the weekend with dry conditions and warmer temperatures. The next threat for precipitation here in Montreal will come early next week in the form of rain. It will remain mild with temperatures swinging to above normal here in the east. With a big swing in the jet stream expected, look for arctic air to plunge into the Prairies with a big storm taking shape over the northern US Rockies. This storm will swing into Manitoba by the weekend with a swath of heavy snow, strong winds and dropping temperatures from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan into Manitoba. Travel across the southern prairies will become very dangerous over the next couple of days.