One more warm windy storm - then winter returns

Over 700 lineman helped to repair the damage from Saturday nights windstorm across Quebec. Another wind event is in our future, with 70 to 90km/h gusts possible late Thursday evening in Montreal. (Hydro-Québec Photo)

Freezing rain, record warmth and then strong winds expected across southern Quebec and Ontario Wednesday and Thursday.

We are awaiting yet another warm and windy winter storm. Low pressure over the central US will cross the Great Lakes and move into Quebec on Thursday. A very pronounced warm front will cross southern Quebec late Wednesday followed by a surge of record-breaking warm air.

Along and ahead of the front, portions of eastern Ontario and southern Quebec may experience a few hours of light mixed precipitation. Being overly cautious at this time, Environment Canada has posted freezing rain warnings for parts of southern Quebec, excluding the island of Montreal for now. The frozen precipitation will be very light and will not last long at any one location, however any ice can make driving very dangerous. The best chance for freezing rain will be between 3 and 7pm Wednesday before temperatures rise.

On Thursday expect a partly cloudy, windy and very warm day, with a record-breaking high of 13C (55F) forecast for Montreal. The record to beat is 10.2C (50F) set in 1992. This will be our second record high this week as Montreal reached 11.5C last Saturday during the windstorm.

Over 700 lineman from Hydro-Quebec, with help from their New Brunswick Power colleagues, brought over 400,000 customers back online over the last few days. As of Thursday morning there were still 693 customers scattered throughout the province without power. Unfortunately another potent cold front is on the way with strong winds expected.

More Strong Winds for Montreal

Winds will begin to ramp up on Thursday, as a strong cold front slides east across Quebec. In advance of the front, strong southwest winds will develop, gusting up to 90km/h at times into the evening hours in Montreal. While the winds will not be as strong as Saturday or last as long, they will be close to warning criteria once again.

Behind this storm, winter returns to Montreal. Much colder air will settle into the province on Saturday, along with a few centimetres of snow. The ground will remain white through Christmas Day in Montreal, with continuous below freezing temperatures forecast and another few opportunities for light snow.