Colder weather on the way for Montreal - Otis slams Acapulco

This fall in has been extremely warm in Montreal to date, with no frost reported in the city and temperatures running well-above normal. That is about to change as the coldest air of the season arrives this weekend and persists into next week. Frost is possible along with the first snowflakes of the season.

There is plenty of weather to talk about early on this Friday morning, with the temperature sitting at a remarkable 16C (61F) in Montreal. The normal high for this time of year is only 9C (48F), we have been running well-above normal this week. Friday will be another warm and windy day across southern Quebec, with a few showers around and high temperatures approaching 20C (68F).

We have one more day of warmth Saturday as a cold front arrives from the west. Behind this front will be the coldest weather of the season, with our first frost and snowflakes likely next week. Highs will drop Sunday into the single digits, and cool even further to around 4C (39F) for Halloween. The good news is the weather looks dry for trick or treating.

Beyond Tuesday, even cooler air arrives, with moisture invading from the south. There is a chance for some flurries by Wednesday, along with frost and freezing temperatures into Thursday morning. The low in Montreal may be as chilly as -2C (29F), cooler than any weather we have seen since early last spring.

Western Snow

While we have been warm, the west has plunged into the deep freeze for October. Cold weather and heavy snow has occurred across Alberta and into southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Record setting lows dropped as cold as -20C (-4F), with up to 20cm of snow falling in some locations close to the Montana border. Estevan, Saskatchewan reported 19cm of snow, while the low in Cardston, Alberta dropped to -20C shattering the record of -17.8C set way back in 1939.

Hurricane Otis slammed into Acapulco, Mexico on Wednesday morning, slicing a path of destruction through the city of 900,000 and nearly destroying the tourist industry in one night. Winds topped 265km/h tearing apart resorts and cutting power to the region. The storm strengthened explosively hitting with little warning, surprising forecasters and emergency planners. Photo: Protección Civil Chilpancingo

Hurricane Otis

Hurricane Otis slammed into the Mexican resort city of Acapulco just after midnight Wednesday as a major category 5 storm, with winds of 265km/h (165 mph). Otis was one of the strongest storms on record to hit the Pacific coast of Mexico. The storm has been blamed for at least 27 deaths, and widespread catastrophic damage expected to reach into the billions of dollars. The resort town was destroyed by a direct hit from one forecasters called a nightmare storm. 

Just 12 hours earlier, Otis was a minimal tropical storm, with not one computer model hinting at anything else. The storm then underwent a record breaking explosive intensification, with winds increasing 115mph in under 12 hours. The storm slammed onshore as a well-developed category 5 hurricane destroying infrastructure and severely damaging nearly 80 percent of the hotels in the popular resort community. Residents and tourists were trapped unable to evacuate in the severe weather conditions. Many hunkered down in high rise hotels as windows blew out and roofs torn away.

The unprecedented strengthening of Otis has forecasters extremely concerned for future storms.

Radar image of powerful hurricane Otis just prior to landfall near Acapulco on Wednesday morning. (NOAA)