Snowy cold weather expected across southern Quebec

A quick moving front will delivery a round of snow squalls and flurries Tuesday afternoon, just in time for the commute in Montreal. Another more potent storm arrives late Wednesday, with a significant snowfall forecast for southern Quebec into Thursday.

Our active weather begins Tuesday afternoon, with the arrival of a cold front from Ontario. Along and ahead of the front, a brief burst of strong winds and heavy snow is expected, unfortunately just in time for the evening commute across the Island of Montreal. The squally weather will last less than an hour for most locations, with a quick 2-4cm of snow possible. Roads will become icy quickly as temperatures remain cold Tuesday afternoon.

High pressure will build in behind the front, with a cold night expected in southern Quebec, overnight lows will drop to -10C (14F). Wednesday will start off sunny, but clouds will be thickening and lower as an elongated warm front starts to lift northward across New York and Ontario. Along that front, a strong winter storm will move from the Midwest US into New York and New England during the day Thursday. The storm center will pass south of our region, with snow developing late in the day Wednesday in Ottawa spreading into Montreal by the early evening. Temperatures will remain quite cold along with increasing northeast winds. The snow will persist overnight into Thursday morning, with a potential 15 to 25cm expected for southern Quebec.

A strong winter storm will spread heavy snow and freezing rain from Montana to Nova Scotia over the next 48-72 hours. Southern Quebec is expecting 15 to 25cm of snow from late Wednesday into Thursday.(AccuWeather.com)

Gusty winds and cold temperatures will accompany the snow, along with areas of blowing snow possible as well. The storm will impact a large travel area from Ontario to Atlantic Canada and southward across northern New York and New England.

The system will be fuelled by arctic air to the north of the track and a surge of very warm air pushing northward from the southern US. Record warmth is expected across portions of Florida northward into the middle Atlantic states, while feet of snow will fall across portions of the Great Lakes, Upper Midwest and Northern Plains.

Weather warnings will likely be issued for Montreal. This post will be updated.