After a warm September - more seasonable weather is on the way for Montréal

A spectacular Montreal sky late Tuesday, October 1st. While the month may have changed, the weather remained the same, warm and dry. September was a record warm month for the region, with rain falling on only three days. (Valley Weather Photo)

What a spectacular September the city of Montreal experienced weather wise. You can not ask for better, ending with a sunny, warm weekend. Even October 1st was well-above normal, with the high temperature peaking at 23.4C (74F), well-above the normal high of 15C (59F). 

And so it goes in our new reality, where September is no longer fall, but just an extension of summer. In fact, September 2024 was the warmest on record for Montreal, with 26 of the 30 days registering highs of 20C or warmer. This ties the record from 1872 and surpasses the 25 days recorded recently in 2021. The average for the month was 18.4C, the normal is 16C.

After the record-breaking rainfall of August, Montreal managed only 53mm of precipitation in September, falling on just three days. Speaking of August, the Insurance Bureau of Canada now estimates that the flood damage caused by Hurricane Debby will exceed $2.5 billion dollars in insurable losses across Quebec. So far in 2024, insurable losses due to weather related events will reach at least $7 billion dollars in Canada, the most ever recorded in one year. 

Looking ahead, we are finally seeing a pattern change evolving that will introduce colder air across the country. After a rather stagnant patter in eastern Canada, we will see a series of cold fronts beginning Wednesday and continuing into next week. Expect temperatures to fall back closer to normal values here in Montreal, along with precipitation. There is a chance for some gusty winds early next week as well, as the strongest of the cold fronts moves through on Monday. Behind that front, several areas in southern Ontario and Quebec may see frost for the first time this season.

After highs in the 20s, the mercury will fall into the middle and even lower teens next week. Overnight lows will drop into the single digits. Perhaps "true" fall is here, time will tell.

The summer of the flood continues across North America. Damage from natural disasters will runs into the billions across North America, including $7 billion in Canada. The flooding above was from Hurricane Helene last week after the storm dumped feet of rain in and around Asheville, North Carolina. (TWC)

One final note, the death toll from Hurricane Helene has now reached 160, with nearly 600 residents still missing across the flood ravaged southern Appalachians. The flood damage looks almost post-apocalyptic, with estimates running into the hundreds of billions of dollars in losses. Many communities remain isolated, after torrential rain swept through the region last Friday. Infrastructure and communications have been destroyed, with roads and bridges swept away. The hardest hit portions of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee bore the brunt of the flash flooding, while coastal communities in Florida suffered severe damage from storm surge.