Coastal storm to impact southern Quebec Tuesday

Low pressure will move along the east coast this week, producing heavy wet snow in Montreal. (AccuWeather.com)

A complex area of low pressure will move up the east coast early this week, with widespread precipitation and strong winds. Those of you who read this blog on a regular basis knew several weeks ago that the likelihood of a stormy end to January and equally wintry February was on the menu. It all starts this week with a rather difficult weather setup. Low pressure responsible for flooding in California and severe thunderstorms with deadly tornadoes in the southeast, will begin to redevelop just off the North Carolina coast. The storm will move north towards southern New England on Monday, and into Maine and Atlantic Canada by Tuesday. Montreal will be on the west side of the storm, with just enough cold air to produce wet snow. The snow will start late Monday evening and taper off by Wednesday morning. A mix of sleet, freezing rain and even some rain is possible as well, depending on your location. The air will be marginally cold enough for frozen precipitation, so we may bounce back and forth between snow and a mix. More snow is forecast from Montreal north and west, with a mix south and east towards the Townships and US border.

The same storm  forecast to bring Montreal snow this week, produced a tornado in Hattiesburg, Mississippi on Saturday morning. Widespread major damage along with four fatalities was reported. (AccuWaether)

I am expecting at least 15cm for Montreal, with as much as 25cm in locations that remain all snow. Temperatures will be around the freezing mark for the duration of the storm. Another factor with this low will be very strong winds, in excess of 50km/h in Montreal on Tuesday. Expect difficult travel around southern Quebec, into eastern Ontario including Ottawa, as well as extreme northern New York and Vermont. Weather warnings will be likely for heavy snow and freezing rain. The entire mess moves northeast by Wednesday, with mild air and few flurries or showers behind the storm. It will turn much colder by next weekend, more on that after the storm.