Active weather week ahead for Montréal - snowy & windy

Saturday was crisp and cold across southern Quebec, with the coldest morning low observed in nearly two years. The temperatures dropped to between -20 and -25C across the region, with -20.7C at Trudeau Airport. We can expect more cold, snow and wind this week, with dangerous travel conditions at times.

Strong winds, snow and blowing snow, reduced visibility and dropping temperatures are forecast from late Monday into Tuesday morning across the region. Weather warnings may be needed.

The last week of January will be quite active across southern Quebec and eastern Ontario. Several clipper systems along with associated fronts will cross the region, each with snow, strong winds and dropping temperatures. Monday afternoons front will be strong, with wind gusts anticipated in the 40-70km/h range, with the potential to reach 100km/h (650 MPH) locally. Winds that strong are capable of producing power outages. In addition to the wind, we can expect a burst of moderate to heavy snow along the front, with as much as 5cm falling. Combined with the strong winds, some area outside the metro regions may experience near-blizzard conditions.

The blowing snow will make for very dangerous travel conditions on Monday afternoon and evening. The front is expected in the Montreal region during the late afternoon, and may coincide unfortunately with the evening commute.

The mild weather of Sunday and Monday, will be replaced by rapidly dropping temperatures behind the front, from highs of 0C to -3C (27-32F) down to -15C (5F) by Tuesday morning. The aforementioned strong winds will also produce brutal windchill values, down into the -20's on Tuesday.

Temperatures will remain cold through Friday, along with more wind and snow as several more clippers cross the region in a very fast moving zonal flow. Each front will be capable of producing snowfall and gusty winds. We are looking at a system Wednesday and another by Friday.

Weather warnings may be needed for the wind event on Monday afternoon, and a high wind watch is already in effect for the US side of the St. Lawrence Valley.

On Saturday morning, Montreal recorded our coldest overnight low in nearly two years, with the temperature dropping to -20.7C (-5.3F). It was the first -18C (sub zero F) low for the city since February 2023.