Finally a little sunshine for southern Quebec

It occurred to me this morning as I was walking my dog, that I have had gloves and a winter coat on for the past six months. Nobody should have to wear gloves for 6 months of the year! What a miserable weather week we have had across eastern Ontario and Quebec. Stubborn low pressure over Maine refuses to budge blocking the weather patterns right across eastern North America. Montreal has had an entire week of below normal temperatures and cloud cover. Any precipitation has been rather light including the showers that are around southern Quebec this morning.

There is a hint of hope in the forecast as weak high pressure will attempt to move into the region as the upper level low over Maine fills and weakens. It will be a slow process and with lots of moisture around clouds will remain frequent into mid week. The good news is any sunshine will warm temperatures into the middle teens. We witnessed this on the weekend, as it did not take much sunshine to squeeze out 15C (59F) on Saturday in downtown Montreal. Trudeau Airport managed 12C (54F) both days, and that is the forecast high for Monday as well. Showers are expected most of the day today with perhaps some clearing tonight. By Tuesday looks for more sunshine than clouds and a warmer high near 16C (60F). Looking ahead we see some warmer temperatures by next weekend with perhaps a 21C (70F) high in our near future.

Winter returned to portions of central Saskatchewan this weekend.
(Photo courtesy Scott Goodwill/CBC)

The weekend weather was a little wild in other parts of North America. Heavy snow fell across central Saskatchewan with 10-20cm from Saskatoon north to Prince Albert. The storm caught many by surprise as it had been rather warm lately. The warmth will return this week with highs in the 20's forecast. Meanwhile strong thunderstorms produced flooding, hail and tornadoes from east Texas into the Florida panhandle. Widespread damage was reported with more storms forecast today.

Damage is complete across parts of Nepal, and the death toll is rising after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Saturday.

NEPAL EARTHQUAKE
As I am writing my blog this morning, the death toll in the devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal, has surpassed 3000. Catastrophic damage, loss of life and injuries have been reported. Relief efforts are underway but being hampered by bad weather, loss of infrastructure including power and a heavily crowded and damaged airport in the capital Kathmandu. Canada has dispatched D.A.R.T. our emergency rapid response team as well as pledged an initial $5 million dollars in financial support. The need is great, if you can help visit the Canadian Red Cross Nepal Page.