An early taste of Spring for Montreal

After flirting with record high temperatures on Saturday, windy and colder weather will return Sunday, along with snow showers. (AccuWeather.com)

Record warmth followed by rapidly dropping temperatures
Thursday was one for the record books across many parts of southern Quebec and eastern Ontario as warm air surged northward. A break in the clouds pushed temperatures well into the lower to middle teens. Numerous new record high temperatures were established, including 17C (63F) in St Anicet, Quebec, Massena, NY and Cornwall, Ontario. In Toronto, the mercury hit 17.7C (64F), setting a new record high for the entire month of February. I recorded 15.6C (60F) here on L'Ile Perrot. As usual, Trudeau Airport was slightly cooler than most surrounding areas, recording 12.3C (54F), falling short of the record of 12.9C set in 1981. Burlington, Vermont posted a high of 17C (63F), also an all time high temperature for February. The snow pack has been cut by nearly two thirds since our big storm last week. The warm temperatures will increase the risk of flooding along some rivers in the region. Venturing anywhere near frozen rivers is not advisable, as the ice has become extremely unstable.

Windy and colder by Sunday
Strong low pressure over the upper Midwest is forecast to move across Lake Huron and into western Quebec this weekend. This storm is generating blizzard conditions west of the track, with severe thunderstorms to the south and east. A warm front will lift north into southern Quebec late today. Expect some rain or even spotty freezing rain along the front late today and into the overnight period. There is even the risk of some thunderstorms. Freezing rain warnings have been issued for the Ottawa Valley as well as Quebec City and regions north of Montreal. Temperatures will be much colder today, before another surge of very warm air Saturday. The high today in Montreal is expected to be 4C (39F). The temperature will then rise overnight into Saturday reaching above 10C (50F). A rather strong cold front will approach southern Quebec late in the day Saturday. Winds will become strong, 30-60km/h, along with showers and thunderstorms. Behind the front, cold air will surge into Montreal, with rapidly dropping temperatures and flurries forecast overnight into Sunday. Some locations will drop by 10 to 15 degrees in a matter of hours.Temperatures in Montreal will fall from near record highs Saturday to well below freezing, -5C (23F) by Sunday morning. Anyone travelling Saturday night should expect rapidly changing weather conditions with icy roads developing.