Our cool spring weather continues

Many parts of southern Quebec remain parched after an extremely dry March and April. The only exceptions are in eastern Quebec closest to the Atlantic Ocean. Central and western Quebec remain well-below normal in terms of rainfall, while Montreal was normal thanks to two days of heavy rain in April. The dry weather has led to a sharp increase in forest fire activity across the province of Quebec, with 127 fires to date in 2021. The ten-year average for the same period is 77 according to SOPFEU. (Environment Canada)

Many parts of southern Quebec had a touch of frost overnight as temperatures dipped to near the freezing point. It was 1C (34F) at my home on Ile Perrot Friday morning, with just a hint of ice on the car windshield. The weather remains very cool for early May, with temperatures running 5 to 10 degrees below the long-term average. Despite the clouds and damp weather, precipitation totals have once again been rather light to start May, as they were in March and April. To date only 2.8mm of rain has fallen at Trudeau Airport. 

April started very dry as well, but several impressive systems over the last two weeks of the month, actually brought precipitation to just above normal for Montreal. The deal was sealed on the last day of the month when 30mm of rain fell on Montreal last Friday. We ended the month with 83.7mm of precipitation, the normal is 82.2mm. That total included a few centimetres of snow just for good measure, actually more than what fell in March. Many parts of the province were very dry, which resulted in an above normal start to the forest-fire season. Trois Rivieres, northeast of Montreal, received only 15.6mm, or 20 percent of their normal rainfall. That amount was indicative of just how dry it was across west-central Quebec.

Unfortunately it appears our current weather pattern will remain in place for several more days. We are looking at another week of unsettled weather, with more clouds than sunshine and the occasional shower. Temperatures will remain below normal, with daytime highs between 10 and 15C (50 to 60F) and overnight lows between 2 and 7C (35 to 45F). There will be an ever present risk of showers or sprinkles, but the weather should be dry most of the upcoming weekend. The best day at this time appears to be Sunday. Breaks of sunshine may allow the temperatures to gain a few extra degrees. I see no serious heat in the forecast for at least the next ten days.