Monday, January 14, 2013

January thaw just about over for Montreal

What a weekend for mild weather with temperatures soaring to a new record high of nearly plus 7C on Saturday at my home, although just tying the record of 5.3C officially at Trudeau Airport. The record dated back to 1986. There was plenty of warm air all around with highs between 5 and 10C across most of eastern Ontario. Toronto also broke a 2006 record on Saturday when the mercury hit a warm 14.8C smashing the previous high of 9.5C. Along with the warmth came plenty of showers and fog along with melting snow. Nearly 30mm of rain fell on the GTA with around 5mm here in Montreal. I would say nearly half the snow in my backyard melted during this thaw, although we still have plenty left, it is virtually useless and waterlogged.

We have another windy and mild morning in Montreal, but it will be the last for some time to come. Temperatures have already reached the high of 6C at 6am this morning and have started to fall in response to a cold front moving across the area. Toronto has already slipped below freezing to -1C. A gusty west wind is accompanying the front with winds of 30-50km/h occurring this morning. Look for temperatures to fall below freezing in Montreal by the noon hour. The balance of the week will feature colder highs of between -2 and -10C , which will feel quite cold after this weekend. There will also be a few clipper type systems and arctic fronts affecting the region, so we can expect some periodic light snow and perhaps a few heavier squalls. No major storms are on the horizon at this time. The trend will be for much colder weather as we head towards the end of the month.

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