Friday, February 07, 2014

Breezy chilly weekend for Quebec - Ontario

It looks like we are into a quiet weather period for Montreal and southern Quebec. A few flurries occurred overnight as the remnants of a Lake Ontario snow band drifted down the St. Lawrence Valley. It put down several centimeters in the 401 corridor, but just a dusting here in Montreal. Today will be sunny, but breezy southwest winds up to 50km/h may blow around some of the new snow as well as make the -8C high feel much colder. Clear skies tonight along with more sunshine for Saturday, lows -12C highs -8C.

We are dealing with two different outlooks in the extended forecast. The Environment Canada forecast for Montreal is looking at several days of sunny, cold weather with little to no precipitation through the end of next week. As always they take a very safe route in public forecasting of the weather here in Quebec. Looking at our neighboring National Weather Service office in Burlington, Vermont, indications are that a potent trough could bring some light snow late Saturday into Sunday, so be aware of that. Beyond that an Arctic boundary will cross the region late Monday with a period of heavier snow and perhaps a squall or two possible. Deeper into next week some computer models are indicating an east coast storm by Thursday. It is way out there but with winter travel so precarious at best, thought my readers would like a heads up. As always forecasts change by the minute, and this has been a challenging winter to forecast to say the least.

***If you are heading down the 401 today to Toronto or south on Interstate 81 to Syracuse NY, be aware of a lake effect snow warning. Snow squalls are affecting those areas especially west of Brockville on Highway 401.

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