Arctic front on our doorstep

Quick moving snow showers rapidly iced roads on Montreal's South Shore on Tuesday around 11am. Police were forced to close several highways. (Photo: David Sedell - Global News)

Much colder air is poised to enter southern and eastern Ontario and Quebec over the next 24 hours. First we will have another partly cloudy and mild day over the area with high temperatures around -2C. We had a wee bit of a surprise yesterday across the south shore of Montreal where a few snow showers deposited a quick coating of snow across the highways. The result was rapid formation of icy surfaces and numerous accidents that shut over 20km of highways 10, 20 and 30. Minor injuries were reported, and the highway remained closed into the afternoon. A similar situation is possible later today, although conditions yesterday were ideal for the rapid formation of ice. Look for 2-4cm of light snow late this evening with gusty winds. Needless to say caution is always advised at this time of year. Remember if the road looks wet, treat it as ice during the winter months.

An arctic front will slide across the St. Lawrence Valley after midnight and usher in very cold air. From today's highs, temperatures will fall all day Thursday and reach -15C by late in the day. Overnight lows on Friday morning could be in the -20's. Strong gusty winds will occur with and after the frontal passage and result in very cold wind chill values. More light snow is forecast for Saturday with a slight moderation in temperatures before we dive into the deep freeze early next week.