Winter is here to stay in Quebec & Ontario

The big clean-up is underway after the 40 plus centimetres of snow that have fallen on Montreal over the last 72 hours. New Year's Eve is looking much different in Montreal than Christmas Eve did.

A very happy and healthy New Year to all my readers, family and friends. I wish everyone all the best in 2016. Be good to each other.

Our record warm December is now a memory as winter weather takes hold across southern Quebec. December 2015 will likely go down as the warmest on record for Montreal. The data is not complete, but through December 30th, Trudeau Airport had a daily average high of 4.8C (40F), the normal should be -1.4C (29F). The overnight lows were astonishingly warm with an average -1.2C (29F), the normal should have been -9.3C (15F). Overall we managed a 1.8C (35F) average temperature, with the normal being -5.4C (22F). Oddly enough, even with all that warm air, as a result of the last 72 hours at Trudeau Airport, the city will come close to the December average for snowfall which is 48.9cm. As of late last night we had 47.6cm at Trudeau Airport in Dorval.

More light snow is forecast today, mixed at times with freezing drizzle as we are in a stagnant air mass. Fog has formed as well with some icy spots on area highways. It will be a very mild New Year's Eve with a high near 0C (32F). Mild air will last into the weekend with snow at times through Sunday. While there may be an occasional burst of steady snow, we are not looking at a huge amount, perhaps 5-10cm through Sunday evening. It will be a mild start to 2016 but turn much colder late Sunday with the passage of an arctic front. Overnight lows by Monday morning may be colder than -18C (0F) for the first time this winter. While we may see some milder days in January, the trend at this time looks much colder with temperatures finally settling back to normal values.