Thursday, January 07, 2016

Windy & wet storm for southern Quebec

After a brief mild spell this weekend, more cold air will arrive for the middle portion of the month.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement regarding a storm for this coming weekend. It looks like mostly rain for Montreal.

After the coldest couple of mornings this season, mild air is set to make a return to southern Quebec. We have one more dry day Friday before twin low pressure areas begin to affect the region. The first system arrives late Friday night and into Saturday. A light mix of rain and snow with perhaps some freezing rain will occur with this system, but we are not expecting any significant amounts. Temperatures will be near the freezing point most of Friday and remain steady into Saturday morning before we climb above freezing, at least here in Montreal.

Late in the day Saturday, the second, much stronger storm will begin to move from the mid Mississippi Valley into the eastern Great Lakes. This system will be strengthening as it moves north with a wide area of steady precipitation accompanying the storm. Mild air will also surge into the St. Lawrence Valley, so we are looking at mainly a rain event with as much as 25mm expected. Snow is forecast, but well north of the Laurentians. There may also be some freezing rain north of the city. Winds with this storm could be strong, especially on Sunday. Behind the system temperatures will turn much colder for Monday with any leftover precipitation changing to flurries. Temperatures on Sunday could be as mild as 6C (43F) in Montreal, but dropping to -3C (27F) by Monday morning. Any leftover moisture would freeze rapidly Sunday night.

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