The calm after the storm in Montreal - winter 2024-25 by the numbers

The sun finally broke out across southern Quebec Wednesday morning, after frigid overnight lows around -20C. Winds were still gusty early this morning, producing cold wind chills, along with some drifting snow as seen above on Senneville Road, on the western tip of the island. (Valley Weather Photo)

We finally have some sunshine on Wednesday and the winds have finally eased off after three straight days of gusts over 50km/h. Temperatures have been frigid since the storm, with wind chill values in the minus 20s. Sunday's blizzard is long gone, but the big cleanup remains, and it has been a tough one. Roads have been clogged with deep snowbanks and sidewalks in many boroughs remain unplowed.

Once the snow ended on Monday, it was followed by strong winds that persisted into late Tuesday. Those winds generated widespread blowing snow, often covering roads soon after they were plowed.

Weary crews are finally starting to catch up and have started hauling away the tons and tons of snow that fell on the city. It is a long and difficult task as many cars remain buried in deep snow, slowing the process. The message is clear from the Ville de Montréal, if the orange signs are out, move your car or it will be towed and quickly.

On that note, exercise extreme caution while cleaning out your vehicle. A 57 year old man was found dead in his car on Tuesday in Parc-Extension, from carbon monoxide poisoning. The car was surrounded by deep snowbanks blocking the exhaust while he warmed his car. Make certain your exhaust is completely free of snow before you start the vehicle. Also verify that any drains or heat exhausts on your home are fee from ice and snow, as well as basement windows. 

Sunday's storm produced over 50 consecutive hours of blowing snow at Trudeau Airport, with six of those hours having true blizzard conditions, with visibilities under 400 metres. (Valley Weather Photo)

Winter 2024-2025 by the Numbers

So how does back-to-back storms in four days shape up historically? From early Thursday morning until Monday night, 74.6cm of snow fell on Montreal. That has only happened once before, in 1898 between January 19-22, when 72.4cm of snow fell. The nearly 75cm of snow almost matched the amount that fell for the entire season up to last Thursday, which was 76.5cm (November-December-January). It brings the monthly total to 95.4cm for February, and the seasonal total since October 1st to 171.9cm. The total for the entire winter of 2023-2024 was 173.2cm. With a couple of months worth of winter weather to go, we will easily surpass that amount.

While this winter has been much colder and snowier than last, it is not that unusual. What is making it seem far worse, is the consistent cold weather, with below freezing temperatures for long periods of time. In January, all but three days remained below freezing. So far in February, only 2 days have nudged above the freezing point, with highs of 0.6C and 0.4C.

So in the last 50 days, only 5 have had above freezing temperatures. As a result all the snow that has fallen is still on the ground. This trend is expected to continue to the end of this month. While no major storms are on the horizon, there will be some nuisance snow Thursday and again Sunday. The next bigger storm looks possible by the end of the month. For now, the good news is that temperatures will slowly warm, with highs close to 0C over the weekend.