Friday, May 31, 2013

The warmest day of the year today for Montreal

Thunderstorms and tornadoes continue to make news this week. The damage above is from Mariaville, New York, near Albany. (timesunion.com)
We are already quite warm and muggy this morning in Montreal with hazy sunshine and 22C. It will warm into the low 30's today with the record to break set at 32.3C from 1999. Most of the day will be dry, but we can't rule out a stray thunderstorm this afternoon. Yesterday I recorded 29.9C here on L'Ile Perrot while officially at Trudeau it was 27.8C. The temperature remained above 20C overnight.

Tonight will be warm and humid with overnight lows in the 20's. Saturday will be very humid with more clouds than sun, a touch cooler around 28C and showers and thunderstorms developing after 3pm. Some of the storms could be rather strong with heavy rain. On Sunday a cold front will move across the St. Lawrence Valley with drier air arriving but not before a decent round of thunderstorms.

Speaking of storms, the National Weather Service confirmed that two tornadoes occurred near Albany, New York late Wednesday. The storms were classified as an EF 1 and an EF2 that carved a 17 mile long path of damage near Florida, New York. Significant damage to homes and power lines was reported along with numerous downed trees from the Albany Capital District east to the Massachusetts border.

I will be taking the blog on the road for a few days, so watch for entries from the southern New England coast.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Near record warmth surges into Ontario & Quebec

From AccuWeather.com
What a difference just a few days can make. The same regions that had frost warnings Monday night are now looking at high heat and humidity, possibly record breaking. Montreal is forecasting a high of 30C today, the record is 31.5C set in 1978, and 32C or 90F forecast for Friday. Along with the heat will come summer like humidity that will push humidex values close to 40C. There may be isolated thunderstorms each afternoon as the heat builds. Yesterday strong storms swept across the central portion of the city as well as through Vaudreuil and Valleyfield. The storms that affected those regions even produced a funnel cloud late in the afternoon near Cassleman, Ontario. The storms that rolled across Montreal brought about 6mm of rain here on L'Ile Perrot but as much as 25mm fell in the West Island and Downtown core during the evening rush hour. Strong storms also affected New England with numerous reports of hail, flash flooding and a possible tornado in southern Vermont.

The rain that fell in Burlington, Vermont helped them to establish a new record for the wettest May ever. This month 8.74 inches has fallen so far surpassing the 2011 record of 8.67 inches. Record keeping dates back to 1884. Keep in mind how dry, almost drought like the first two weeks of the month were for all of us.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Thunderstorms flood parts of GTA - heading for Montreal

Major flooding on the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto overnight. (CBC News)
A strong warm front produced heavy rain and thunderstorms across southwest Ontario overnight including portions of Toronto. The heavy rain, in some cases over 50mm in a short period of time, pushed the Don River over its banks closing portions of the busy Don Valley Parkway between Bloor and Gardiner. Other parts of the city also reported flash flooding with many underpasses and train tracks blocked. The warm front will continue to lift northeast into Eastern Ontario and southern Quebec today. There is a slight risk of strong thunderstorms across our region, with the main threat being heavy rain. The bulk of the moisture will arrive by the middle of the afternoon in Montreal. This morning most of the heaviest rain has moved across Lake Ontario into New York State.

The front will usher in very warm and humid tropical air. The temperature in Montreal will reach 22C today but climb all the way to 30C (86F) Thursday through Saturday. There will be a risk each afternoon for thunderstorms as the air will be saturated with moisture.

***A couple of points to remember, stay hydrated in the sudden onset of mid-summer weather, taking care outdoors. Also if you seek relief near or in waterways, remember they are flowing fast from all the rain, and still dangerously cold, in most cases under 13C (55F). At that temperature hypothermia can
occur in minutes.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

First 32C (90F) temperature of the season for Montreal?

Just days after we came oh so close to a May snowfall in Montreal, we may push 32C (90F) by Thursday. In this May of extremes, the weather will swing back to summer mode with a push of tropical air arriving by late Wednesday. Today will be sunny and seasonable with highs near 23C, just a perfect day. Tonight and Wednesday a strong warm front will begin to lift north across the St. Lawrence Valley with a sharp increase in humidity. Showers and thunderstorms will accompany the front with a risk of strong storms by Wednesday afternoon for metro Montreal. The main threat from these storms will be very heavy rain. The air mass will become tropical like with warm temperatures and high humidity right through the upcoming weekend. Highs region wide will be in the 27-32C range or 80-90F with overnight lows remaining very warm by Thursday only 20C. It will cool down by Monday as a front a low pressure area cross Ontario and Quebec.

Nearly 3 feet of snow fell on Whiteface Mountain this past weekend. Courtesy of ORDA / AP photo
I have posted an amazing picture above of the snow this past weekend at Whiteface, New York. Despite it being late May, nearly 3 feet of wet snow fell on the weekend forcing officials to close numerous roads. I hope this will be the last talk of snow on this blog until October or even later.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Hot & humid weather to return to Montreal

The higher elevations of Vermont, NY and the Townships received a late May snowstorm on Saturday. The photo above was taken at Whiteface Mountain, NY. (NWS Burlington)
It was a downright cold weekend for May, more like October. The temperature only made it to 10C (50F) on Saturday with abundant rainfall and a cold northerly wind all day in Montreal. Sunday was only a touch better, remaining cold and wet most of the day and only recovering by 5pm or so. The temperature managed to reach 13C. It has been a wet period for sure with over 50mm (2 inches) of rain in the last week here on L'Ile Perrot. Amounts were much greater across Vermont with portions of Chittenden, Lamoille and Orleans Counties reporting between 7 and 9 inches of rain in the last week (175-225mm). The culprit this weekend was a rather strong and cold late season coastal storm that produced the nasty weather as well as some coastal flooding in Maine and New Hampshire. Another part of this storm was snow! A rare Memorial Weekend snowfall occurred across the higher elevations of Vermont, New Hampshire and southern Quebec with between 10-20cm (6-8 inches) reported in places like Jay Peak and Mount Mansfield.

Saturday morning weather map. The swirling coastal storm maintained a northerly flow with lots of cold air and precipitation. 
With that storm out of the way high pressure will give us sunshine and warmer temperatures today, up to 19C. A warm front will then move across the region late Tuesday into Wednesday with a few showers and thunderstorms. That front will open the door to the warmest air of the season so far with hot and humid weather expected to end the week and into the weekend. Temperatures will reach and likely exceed 30C in Montreal by Thursday. What a difference just a few days can make.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Cold dreary Saturday - snow in the Townships

Major flooding continues to be a problem in Vermont. (Burlington Free Press)

Hard to believe it, but it may snow across the highest elevations of the Eastern Townships this weekend south into the Green Mountains. A coastal storm, unusual for late May, will take shape this evening and slowly move along the New England coast. A northerly fetch of air will keep very cool weather for the weekend here in the St. Lawrence Valley and across New England. Heavy rain is forecast across Vermont and New York with a moderate rainfall in Montreal as well. A flood watch is in effect for most of northern New York as well as Vermont where 1 to 3 inches (25-75mm) could fall. This will provide sharp rises to area rivers as well as hinder clean up efforts where flash flooding has already occurred in Vermont. Snowfall on Saturday evening in and around Sherbrooke and the mountains could reach 5cm over the highest terrain.

Major flooding in Vermont

Heavy rain continued on Thursday along a stationary front just southeast of Montreal. Thunderstorms trained along that front producing another day of record rainfall for Burlington, Vermont. The result was an additional 2.5 inches (approx 62mm) of rainfall on top of the close to 1.5 inches (approx 40mm) on Wednesday. Major flash flooding has occurred, especially in Underhill and Essex. Flood warnings remain in effect for portions of Vermont today with numerous roads washed out or closed. Montreal by comparison had about 7mm of rain from midday thunderstorms, while Sherbrooke had 38mm. The news for the weekend is not so good anymore. A cold front that swept southern Quebec late in the day will settle into southern New England. Along that front, low pressure is forecast to develop near Cape Cod. Moisture from that storm will keep clouds and showers all weekend in the region with heavy rain and the potential for more flooding in Vermont. 

Route 15 in Essex, Vermont. (Burlington Free Press)
Montreal will not have as much rain as New England but I think it will be cloudy and wet Saturday before it tries to clear out Sunday. The temperatures will be well below normal for late May, downright cold. It is currently only 7C (45F) here on L'Ile Perrot, it was 21C yesterday morning. It will not warm much today with clouds, a cold north wind and showers. Temperatures will try to moderate over the weekend.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Another round of storms for Montreal - Vermont & NY

Portions of the Queen City of Burlington, Vermont were hit by strong thunderstorms on Wednesday. (Fox 44 News)
Thunderstorms will fire up across the region today just as they did on Wednesday. The largest storms yesterday developed in the Adirondacks of New York and swept northeast across the Champlain Valley and into southern Quebec. They primarily remained south and east of metro Montreal during the daylight hours. These storms were big slow moving rain makers producing flooding in parts of Burlington, Vermont. Wind damage was also reported across upstate New York with some trees and power lines down. A second intense line raced across eastern Ontario late last night with intense lightning and gusty winds. These arrived in Montreal right around midnight rapidly crossing the city leaving about 7mm of rain here on L'Ile Perrot.

My Davis Vantage Vue stopped transmitting data at 12:12am during the height of the storm leaving me to believe it had fallen from its perch! It turned out to be an electrical problem that involved 90 minutes of cross referencing without my owners manual before I got it it up and running again. That took me to about 2am so I am a little tired today.

In any event the same air mass that prevailed yesterday exists today across the region. A Flash Flood Watch is already posted for portions of New York and all of Vermont. The potential exists for moist thunderstorms to produce a quick 1 to 2 inches of rain today across that portion of New England. Here in Montreal it is a very warm and humid 20C this morning. Expect showers and some thunderstorms to develop by noon as a cold front move southeast from Ontario. Gusty winds will also begin by midday in the Ottawa Valley and arrive in Montreal this afternoon, between 30-50km/h. The front will dry out the air but bring with it much cooler weather for Friday with a high of only 15C. The weekend looks sunny and dry with a warming trend into next week.

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Strong thunderstorms possible today in Ontario & Quebec

Crews repair power lines damaged by strong winds near Waterloo, Ontario. (Waterloo Record)
A warm front remains to the south of Montreal this morning separating cool, muggy air in the city from much warmer and humid air south of the front. Yesterday we managed 19C (66F) while areas in southwest Ontario and into Central New York State were closer to 27C (81F). The result was numerous strong to severe thunderstorms across western New York, southern Ontario as far east as Ottawa and Cornwall and into Vermont. Montreal remained just north of this activity with about 6mm of rain and the occasional rumble of thunder. The storms produced hail, heavy rain, frequent lighting and wind damage. Power was out to thousands in Ontario. A tornado was even reported east of Albany, NY that headed into the Berkshires of Massachusetts. Flooding was reported near Fergus, Ontario.

Tornado threat today from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center. I think the main threat in our regions will be high winds and some hail.
Today nearly 50 million people from the deep south into Ontario and extreme southern Quebec remain at risk for severe weather. I think the main threat for us once again will be heavy rain later today. In Ontario strong storms with hail and high winds are possible south and west of Brockville. There is even a possibility today of some isolated tornadoes in extreme southwest Ontario. Temperatures in Montreal will make it to a muggy 21C (70F), but much warmer south of us into the high 20`s in Vermont and New York. More rain is forecast in Thursday with the risk for further thunderstorms. Watch my twitter feed today for any updates and warnings or watches.

In Moore, Oklahoma yesterday strong storms and rain hampered search efforts in the morning before the sun finally broke out in the afternoon. There was finally a little better news with the death toll adjusted to 24. First responders are credited with rescuing over 100 hundred from the ruble. The National Weather Service has said that the storm reached EF 5 level with 200 mph plus winds as it tore through the Plaza Towers Elementary School.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Moore Oklahoma tornado kills dozens - hundreds injured

From KFOR news chopper, an image of the Moore tornado on Monday.
UPDATE: A little bit of good news in this terrible tragedy, the death toll has been lowered to 24. The Chief Medical Examiners office has said that earlier reports were wrong. Other good news was that nearly 100 people have been pulled from the rubble alive since rescue efforts began.

Search and rescue efforts continue this morning in the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore after a powerful tornado on Monday. The storm is estimated at and EF4 with 200mph winds and a damage path as much as 2 miles wide at times. The storm brought death and complete destruction to entire neighborhoods, targeting several retail outlets, schools and a hospital. The death toll is rising with many of them children. Over 200 have been injured. The images are heartbreaking and at times hard to comprehend. The power of this storm was just incredible, a very rare tornado, but sadly too common in this part of the US.

The threat for severe weather remains today across the southern plains and into the Midwest and Great Lakes including an area from Texas to Ontario. Several thunderstorms are even likely into southern Ontario and Quebec with the risk of severe weather in southwest Ontario according to Environment Canada. The main focus here in the St. Lawrence Valley will be heavy rain with up to 50mm (2 inches) possible between this evening and Thursday.

Monday, May 20, 2013

Historic tornado - catastrophic damage in Moore Oklahoma

From CBS News - complete destruction in Moore, Oklahoma this afternoon.
9:30pm UPDATE: Death toll currently at 51 including at least 7 at elementary school. Just heartbreaking the loss of life and level of destruction from this tornado.
From CNN a shopping mall in Moore. It is hard to understand just how intense this storm was.
A massive tornado up to two miles wide at times has struck Moore, Oklahoma with preliminary wind estimates in the EF4 category or up to 200mph. The storm struck at around 3:30pm local time today and has caused complete and catastrophic damage in many neighborhoods around Moore, a suburb of Oklahoma City. There are reports of numerous injuries and fatalities but no solid numbers as the story continues to unfold.
This same region was flattened by an EF5 tornado in May 1999. I was living in Saskatchewan at the time and remember the storms that night stretching from my own backyard south to Texas. It was surreal. The damage this time appears to be worse in many parts of Moore. One of the buildings struck was Plaza Towers Elementary School with first responders on the ground searching frantically for survivors.


In Montreal...
A frontal boundary remains just south of the region on this Victoria Day Monday. Showers this morning in Montreal gave way to sunshine and warm temperatures as the front slipped a little further south. Low pressure in the Midwest will ride along the front with periods of rain and thunderstorms expected for the middle portion of the week for southern Quebec and Ontario. The front separates warm and humid air to the south from cooler but still moist air to the north. This system has a history of severe weather with large thunderstorms and tornadoes occurring yesterday from Minnesota to Oklahoma. Hardest hit yesterday was Shawnee, Oklahoma where one fatality was reported with hundreds of injuries. I wrote this earlier and as you can see the severe weather continues today with the Moore tornado.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Rankin Inlet buried under massive snowstorm

The calender does say May, but it is still very much winter in several parts of northern Canada. The tiny Hamlet of Rankin Inlet on Hudson Bay in Nunavut was hit this week by a record setting blizzard. Nearly 100cm of snow (40 inches) piled up over a 3 day period. Keep in mind the normal yearly snowfall for Rankin Inlet is 119.7cm according to Environment Canada, so that represents about 75% of their annual total in one storm. Daily and monthly records were also established as well as the most snow on the ground in any season at 150cm. Roads and businesses were closed as fierce wind piled the snow into 15 foot drifts. The snow was brought into the region on easterly winds blowing off Hudson Bay. Normally the bay would be frozen solid but with large portions not covered by ice, the moisture was available. Another 10cm of snow fell yesterday. This morning it is -2C and still snowing lightly.

Montreal weekend weather...
Thankfully there is no snow in our forecast. The first long weekend of the summer is upon us with dry weather and mild temperatures expected. It wont be a perfect weekend, but I expect more sunshine than clouds and just a slight chance of an afternoon shower, especially by Monday. Temperatures will be either side of 20C from today through Monday. Overnight lows will be cool around 7C. We really need some moisture as conditions continue dangerously dry across eastern Ontario, Quebec and New England. Be very vigilant with any outdoor burning. Looking ahead into next week some rainfall is possible.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Massive tornado sweeps north Texas

Damage late last night in Granbury, TX. CNN.com
It has been a rather quiet tornado season thus far thanks to the record cold that has prevailed across large portions of North America. That will change in the coming days as much more warm and humid air attempt's to stream northward while more cold sinks south. This was evident last night as severe weather prevailed across portions of north Texas. Massive tornadoes occurred south of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex including Granbury, Texas where at least 6 deaths were reported. Hundreds more are injured and 14 missing. The storms also produced massive baseball size hail. Entire neighborhoods were leveled by the mile wide wedge tornado.

Tornadoes fired up across North Texas late Wednesday, killing at least 6 and injuring hundreds. (AccuWeather.com)

Our weather was mundane in comparison with a very weak front just about drying out before it reached Montreal late Wednesday. My rain gauge was barely wet and Trudeau Airport measured a drop at 1.6mm. It remains very dry this month, and with the exception of a shower or two over the next five days, it will remain that way. Temperatures will settle in either side of 20C for highs right through the weekend. There will be more clouds than sun, but I think the precipitation will be very scarce. It starts today with sunshine this morning, clouds thicken and perhaps a shower this afternoon. Any rain will be welcome as May remains dangerously dry.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Some much needed moisture for Montreal

A few showers will move into the St. Lawrence Valley later today along a warm front. The moisture and milder temperatures will be welcome after a chilly start once again this morning. It was not as cold as Tuesday morning with the mercury dipping to 2C (36F) here on L'Ile Perrot. On Tuesday morning we had frost and a record low of -1C (30F) here on the island. It was just slightly warmer at Trudeau Airport with 0.4C (33F), missing the record low of 0.0C (32F) set in 1979.

Temperatures will warm today with a southerly breeze and increasing clouds, highs will be around 16C (61F). Showers will move into the region by this afternoon and last until around midnight. We are not looking for a huge amount of rainfall but anything is good at this point. With the month halfway over we have recorded only about 10-15mm of rain in the metro region. Conditions remain very dry with an elevated fire threat, but no burn ban as of this time. That may change over the weekend - after today the forecast looks dry right through the Victoria Day holiday. Temperatures will be in the low 20's with a mix of sun and cloud.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Frost Warning

Residents of Timmins, Ontario woke to a late season snowfall on Sunday. After very warm temperatures last week, most of the east is in for a very cold Monday with flurries and frost. ( Photo sootoday.com)
After last weeks record warmth, it appeared we were finally past winter. Not so much this morning as very strong northwest winds have driven temperatures down to the single digits in Montreal. It was quite a cold and windy Mother's Day with temperatures struggling to reach 10C. By late afternoon another shot of cold air moved in with winds gusting to 70km/h and temperatures dropping to 4C. There was even reports of small hail here on L'Ile Perrot and some light snow in the Ottawa Valley and across the Laurentiens late last night. This morning it is blustery and cold with temperatures in the 2 to 4C range (35-40F) and windchill values below freezing. You will feel it when you step outside this morning as I did walking the dog. It will remain cloudy today with sprinkles and very windy once again 40-60km/h. Temperatures will reach 10C by this afternoon. Tonight, we have a frost warning in effect for metro Montreal and southern Quebec as well as the Champlain Valley. Lows by Tuesday morning will drop to near 0C (32F) with frost away from major metro regions. Frost warnings are also in effect for wide areas of southwest Ontario. Conditions will warm up moving into the middle portion of the week as a warm front begins to moderate temperatures with a chance of rain by Wednesday. At this time the first long weekend of the summer looks good with sunshine and warmer temperatures.

Over the weekend snow fell in northeast Ontario and portions of northwest Quebec with 26cm at Timmins and 30cm in Chapleau.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Rainy & cooler weather for the weekend in Montreal

A water bomber fighting forest fires north of Montreal. An outdoor burning ban remain in effect across Quebec. It remains critically dry in many regions, with only a trace of rain this month in Metro-Montreal. (CBC News).
We managed to squeeze out two more decent days this week as the very dry and warm weather continues across southern Quebec and eastern Ontario. The showers and thunderstorms yesterday remained either north of the St. Lawrence Valley or well southeast of us. I manged to record around 1mm of rainfall, the first measurable precipitation this month here on LÃŒle Perrot and really just a splash in the rain gauge. That will change tonight as low pressure develops in the Midwest and moves along a cold front into Quebec. The combination of the two will produce a soaking rain from late tonight into Saturday. Much needed amounts of rain are forecast with up to 50mm (2 inches) north and east of Montreal and 25mm (1 inch) in the city. These amounts may be higher locally, as some thunderstorms are possible Saturday especially in the St. Lawrence Valley. The warm weather of late will go away for a little while as temperatures drop from the upper 20`s to below normal with highs of only 15C on Saturday and 11C on Mother`s Day.

Warmer weather is forecast for next week as high pressure moves in once again. It will not be as warm as this week has been with highs in the upper 20`s and one record high on Wednesday when the mercury hit 29C in Montreal surpassing the 27C high set in 1979. The rain and cooler weather will be welcome by firefighters who continue to battle over a dozen forest fires in Quebec. The total in 2013 is 167 so far, well above normal, and a burn ban remains in effect until further notice across the province. This is especially critical here in the south.

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Fire danger remains high - burn ban in effect in Quebec

The fire risk is high across the region. Above crews are battling several brush fires in northern Vermont. This one was near Colchester just outside Burlington. Burn bans are in effect in Quebec and New York. (FOX 44)
Outdoor burning is not allowed in Quebec for the time being as an usually dry and hot period greets us to start May. Low relative humidity, lots of available fuel, and near record warmth has increased the fire danger to extreme. Nearly 150 fires so far this year in the province have burned over 132 hectares, both way over the 10 year average. Currently 9 fires are burring in Quebec.

Again yesterday temperatures rose rapidly and leveled off between 27 and 29C across the southern half of the province. Expect high temperatures today to reach around 28C in Montreal. The record for today is 29.8C set in 1982, we have a slim shot at it. Of note on this day in 1976 4.6cm of snow fell. Last Friday I mentioned that it had snowed in Arkansas, 5 inches fell at Decatur. That was the first measurable snow ever recorded in May in that state dating back to 1819. Meanwhile at the same time North Bay, Ontario had temperatures in the high 20's (near 80F). Yesterday the heat surged northward across Western Canada after what has been a frigid spring. Just one week after having snow, Edmonton set a record high of 31C. They have settled down to 8C this morning and will only reach 16C today.

Monday, May 06, 2013

Warm weather increases fire danger in Quebec

Above: This fire spread rapidly from a small bonfire to one consuming several hectares on Mont St Gregroire Friday night. No outdoor burning should be done this week in Quebec, as seen below my region remains under an extreme fire alert. CBC News

Over the last week nearly 80 brush/forest fires have broken out in various locations around the province of Quebec due to the abundant dead matter from the winter and the very dry, warm weather. May so far in Montreal has featured well above normal temperatures each day including yesterday's 27C (81F). The warm dry weather has increased the risk of forest and brush fires as one group of campers found out late Friday night. They had a bonfire burning on Mont St Gregoire on the South Shore that got out of hand and spread rapidly. The fire consumed more than three hectares but is now under control. The SOPFEU, the group responsible for forest fire prevention in Quebec, is reporting extreme fire danger for this week. The forecast looks the same has it has been all month, sunny and warm through Tuesday. Showers and cooler weather will arrive on Wednesday, but we are not expecting a huge amount of precipitation.  Strong high pressure will continue to anchor itself over southern Quebec with fair weather across eastern Ontario and New England as well.

Dust Devils
The dry warm weather has prompted another unusual special weather statement from Environment Canada  this morning, one for dust devils. These are thermal whirlwinds that develop on warm summer afternoons when it is very dry out with low relative humidity. They swirl briefly up and can blow around debris or even move small objects.  They resemble tornadoes in there structure, but on a very, very mirco scale. They usually dissipate in seconds. We have all seen them before in schoolyards as kids or perhaps across a WalMart parking lot blowing dust and paper around and then disappearing as fast as they came. I have never read a statement for them however. Just part of this bizarre spring. How bizarre? On the weekend most places in southern Quebec were at least 10 degrees warmer than locations across the southern US. That portion of the country has been plagued by a stubborn upper level slow. The cold core system has produced hail, flurries, frost and record cold from Kansas and Texas into the southeast. Portions of south Texas along the Gulf Coast were colder than southern Quebec this weekend.

Friday, May 03, 2013

Warm in Montreal - snow in the Midwest

Rochester, Minnesota on Thursday. (weather.com)
Another spectacular day is upon us this morning in Montreal, but just a touch cooler. A backdoor cold front swept quietly across the region overnight dropping temperatures from our high yesterday of 25C down to 10C this morning. That cold front dropped temperatures rapidly along the coast of Maine and New Hampshire yesterday with some places falling from near 80F down to 50F in under 2 hours. We will rebound under sunshine to 23C today and that is the forecast through next Tuesday, sunny and 23C (73F).

Omaha, Nebraska (weather.com)
Yesterday at one point Montreal was 25C (77F) and Ottawa 27C (81F) while Dallas was only 9C (49F) It even snowed in Kansas City last night during the Royals game which was called after 4 innings. The storm that gave snow to Kansas was historic in many places from Nebraska through Iowa and into Minnesota.  Rochester had over 15 inches of snow, the largest May snowfall on record for Minnesota. Snow fell from northwest Ontario as far south as Arkansas. Warmer air will try to enter the system today but another 1-3 inches of wet snow is still possible, just unreal for May! High pressure stalled over Quebec will keep that storm and the cold air well to the west of Quebec and most of Ontario.

Thursday, May 02, 2013

Sunny - warm for Montreal

A very simple forecast to start May, sunshine and warm for the St. Lawrence Valley. That is it, period. High pressure will remain nearly stationary over Quebec with light winds and abundant sunshine in Montreal through Sunday. High temperatures will be from 24 to 27C, yes folks that is 75-80F! Lows will range in the 10 to 13C range (50-55F). Enjoy, but please be extra careful with any outdoor burning across the entire region (that includes cigarettes). As a matter of fact there is an outdoor burn ban in effect in New York State. The entire region is dry with lots of fuel on the ground in the form of dry leaves and such left over from last fall.


There is nasty weather on the map this morning. Snow continues to be a problem across portions of the upper Midwest, including Minneapolis.  That threat will shift south towards Kansas City over the next 24 hours. Very rare but not impossible snow for May with amounts in the 5 to 10 inch rage. Snow is also possible over northwest Ontario including Thunder Bay where 10cm is possible. Yesterday numerous roads were closed in Manitoba due to ice and snow. The numbers are in for some western locations, and April was cold. Regina was over 6C colder than average and Edmonton nearly 5 degrees below normal.

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

May finally - after 6 months of winter in Montreal

May Day is here, we made it finally, after what seemed like one of the longest winters in recent memory. We had snow from November right into late April here in southern Quebec. Montreal will warm to 24C (76F) today our warmest day of the year to date, with mild overnight lows around 10C (50F). This pattern will last well into the upcoming weekend with lots of sunshine, no precipitation, and temperatures around 21C (70F) for highs.


Meanwhile portions of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are digging out from up to 25cm of wet snow on Tuesday. In Moose Jaw and Regina the amounts were around 15cm, still plenty for a winter weary region that has observed record snowfall this winter. Snow and heavy rain also fell on flood prone southern Manitoba into North Dakota yesterday. Today that same storm system will produce snow from Nebraska and Iowa across Minnesota and Wisconsin into northwest Ontario. Just a couple of days ago the Twin Cities were in the upper 70`s, today they are under a winter storm warning. But such is the Spring of 2013, it has been a bizarre mix of snow, thunderstorms, record warmth and cold all mashed together. Lets hope Montreal has finally cleared the hurdle as the trees are budding, the tulips are coming up and my grass has finally turned green, at least parts of it!

Dauphin, Manitoba on Tuesday. (CBC News)