Snowstorm on the way for southern Ontario and Quebec

Several hours of freezing rain added another icy coat on Montreal this morning.

Winter Storm Warning: Montreal and southern Quebec.

It was an icy commute in southern Quebec this morning as weary drivers dealt with another round of freezing rain. The temperature remained very close to the freezing point as Montreal was north of a potent warm front. Temperatures just on the other side of that front were very warm with Burlington at 10C (50F) this morning. Tonight a strong cold front will sweep across southern Quebec with snow squalls and dropping temperatures. Winds will gust from 50-70km/h with the frontal passage and temperatures will plummet to -16C (4F) by morning. High pressure will nose briefly into southern Quebec on Tuesday, it will be partly sunny with increasing clouds and cold, the high will be -10C (14F).

The weather then becomes active once again Tuesday night, as a strong winter storm develops over the central plains and moves into the Ohio Valley. The storm will then move just south of Montreal through southern Vermont. This is an ideal track to produce heavy snow in Montreal. Unlike the previous two storms, temperatures will remain cold with this system, no better than -5C (23F) on Wednesday in the St. Lawrence Valley. Snow will start late Tuesday afternoon and become heavy overnight into Wednesday. At this time it looks like 20-30cm (8-12 inches) of snow are quite likely for Montreal and areas north of the city. A little less may accumulate from Montreal south. Winds will become strong in the St. Lawrence Valley, gusting up to 60km/h, producing blowing snow. Expect very poor travel late Tuesday and Wednesday morning. The snow will taper off Wednesday afternoon before skies clear and it becomes quite cold into Thursday.