Tuesday, February 03, 2015

More cold...more snow

It was a painfully slow commute to and from work in Montreal on Monday. Expect more of the same today as the extreme cold has made salt ineffective. (ValleyWX Photo)
Different month, same weather for southern Quebec. My drive into work and home on Monday was possibly the worst commute I have had this winter. Snow and extreme cold is making salt ineffective. Roads were snow packed and extremely icy, and that has lead to hundreds of accidents as drivers refuse to slow down. In one split second on Monday on Highway 20 near Beaconsfield, two SUV's spun out in front and immediately behind me, hitting the guard rail in the process. It was icy, and the vehicle behind me in particular was travelling too fast for the conditions. The same holds true this morning with icy roads and many accidents in metro Montreal.

Around 10cm of snow fell in Montreal on Monday, driven by winds in excess of 50km/h most of the day. It was cold with a high of only -17C (1F) and bitter windchill values. We currently sit at -24C (-11F) in Montreal with lighter winds thankfully. It will be sunny today and a little milder with highs to -12C (10F) by late in the day. Clouds will be on the increase as another clipper type low pressure area arrives from western Canada. Snow will develop tonight and last into Wednesday with another 5-10cm possible for eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. Temperatures will be much milder on Wednesday in the snow, up to a balmy -6C (21F). It will turn colder again on Thursday with more snow likely by Saturday for Montreal.

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