First winter storm splits southwest Quebec

Heavy snow fell on L'Ile Perrot late Sunday and overnight, with nearly 15cm reported. Only 5cm fell at Trudeau Airport. (ValleyWeather)

Strong low pressure, located near Quebec City this morning, will lift off towards the northeast today. Wrap-around moisture continues to impact southwest Quebec and Ontario, in the form of light snow. As expected, the rain changed to snow on Sunday, from west to east as the day progressed. It left a deep snow pack for some locations, with very little in the way of accumulations elsewhere. At my home on L'Ile Perrot, the rain changed to snow around 3:00pm. The snow fell steady for most of the evening, into the wee hours this morning. I measured a good 15cm (6 inches) of snow at 6:00am this morning, but higher amounts fell southwest of the city, in Valleyfield and across eastern Ontario.

The rain/snow split on the island of Montreal seems to have occurred around Trudeau Airport in Dorval, where 5cm fell, along with 10-15mm of rain. As you move west from the airport, the snow gets deeper; moving east it tapers off rather rapidly. The weight of the snow in my area has crushed some hedges and trees. Numerous power outages have also been reported by Hydro Quebec, with over 16,000 customers in the dark this morning. Most of these are located southwest of Montreal, and north of the Ottawa River. In Montreal, the morning commute is very slow. The major highways are in good shape, but most city streets are iced up. Light snow will continue today, with another 2-4cm possible. Gusty northwest winds will reach 40 to 60km/h, producing some blowing snow, especially along Highway 20 towards Ontario. Temperatures will be cold today, remaining steady near -1C (30F).