The ice was about 1/4 inch thick in North Grenville today

Icy Rain over Ontario/Quebec

A fast moving area of low pressure skirted across Upstate New York today with up to 10mm of freezing rain in the area. Roads were slippery and some minor power outages were reported by Hydro One. The precip is just about over in Ontario with a few flurries or showers left over.

Travel till late Sunday looks great before another storm system moves in on Monday. Be safe and have a very Happy start to 2006!!!

Ice Storm Possible
Well it is back to work for many of us. Christmas was mild for most of the country. The storm that was expected in our area shifted a little east and dumped 30-70cm of snow from Quebec City into New Brunswick. In Montreal over 12 hours of freezing rain and wind knocked power out to 70,000 homes on the south shore. Roads were icy and travel uncomfortable, (best way to describe driving on ice).

The next storm is on our doorstep. Low pressure over Illinois will move south of the lower lakes tonight. It is looking like the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Valley's will have a prolonged period of Freezing Rain beginning tonight after 4pm. Expect 5-10mm or close to 1/2 inch of ice by noon tomorrow. Warnings are in place for both sides of the border (NY,Ont.) and in Montreal. That will be enough to make travel very poor and create some power outages as well. Stay tuned. If you have to travel tonight between Kingston, Montreal and Ottawa I would go early today or after noon tomorrow.

Christmas Weather Update....

While precipitation over the next few days will be light, it will be falling. With that in mind, travel with care and caution. The first shot of precipitation will be moving into our area this afternoon and tonight. While most areas are above freezing and will see a few centimetres of wet snow, some normally colder pockets, like Cornwall, Ontario, the upper Ottawa Valley or the Eastern Townships, Quebec & Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, may see spotty freezing rain. Tonight and Saturday more light snow with spotty freezing rain.

According to the National weather Service out of Burlington Vermont, the threat remains likely for a snowstorm Sunday night. It is becoming less likely for eastern Ontario. With the storm along the US coast, the western extent of the snow may only be as far west as the border communities with Quebec. Montreal will however receive the snow if the system develops. Travel with caution and listen to the updated forecast before you go.

To everyone, Family, Friends and Co-Workers who endure my constant chatter about the weather, Thank You a million times. I love the weather, but the real thrill is sharing it with you. Be safe...Slow down and enjoy the Holidays......Stephen

Christmas Day Snowstorm.....
Ok don't panic yet, but here is the latest scoop on the Holiday weather. Today, Thursday, is a great travel day, just a little light snow but nothing major. Tomorrow, Friday will be sloppy with some snow and sleet, but with the expected high of 0C to -2C, I think we will be fine in Ontario and Quebec.

The challenge comes later in the forecast period, late Sunday into Monday. Low pressure is forecast to develop along the east coast and move towards Cape Cod, The moisture on the back side of the system will approach Montreal late Sunday. I think it will have trouble moving into eastern Ontario. At any rate, a significant snow may fall into Boxing Day for southwest Quebec, Eastern Ontario, New York State and Vermont.. At this point here is the travel outlook....

Thursday...GOOD
Friday... SLOPPY but SAFE with Caution
Saturday....GOOD best day.
Sunday...GOOD early moving to POOR or worse late.....

I will update this early tomorrow morning.

Be safe and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Christmas Update.................
An arctic front slid south across the area today with snow north and south of Kemptville. The Kemptville bubble held tight deflecting the snow around us...go figure. The forecast for the weekend has modified a little. Friday looks to be cloudy with flurries and mild. Saturday into Christmas Day could be interesting with a low developing along the Eastern Coast of the US. It is early, and computer models are having trouble with the exact track. If this worries you, and you are travleling for the holidays, leave Friday night or early Saturday. Stay Tuned...............

Just some of the 41cm of snow clogging Montreal roads this weekend.

ValleyWeather Photo

First look at Christmas.....
Travel in the east could be a little slippery come the Christmas weekend, but no major delays at this time are expected. It will be mild, but some of the precipitation could be in the form of freezing rain. Any precipitation at this point looks to be light. Lots can change but right now Friday looks to be about 0C to plus 2C through most of Eastern Ontario and west Quebec, with flurries or showers. Same for Saturday and Christmas Day. Stay tuned.......

Clearing Leeds/Grenville Roads early this morning (VWXPhoto)

Record Snowstorm for Montreal
Over 41cm of snow fell today in Montreal bringing transportation to a standstill. Big ugly accidents occurred everywhere, there were too many to mention. Airport closed for hours, all schools closed. It was a record storm for December 16 and very close to the benchmark superstorm of March 4, 1971. According to my parents the March 71 storm was the storm that sparked my interest in weather. I sat in our windowsill on Lasalle Blvd and watched the snow pile up all day. The difference in 71 was the storm was accompanied by 100km/h winds.

It will take millions of dollars and 5 days to clear the storm from area roads. Today from 6am-NOON visibility in Montreal was less than 1km.

In North Grenville between 20-25cm fell in the county. Busses were cancelled, hundreds of accidents along the 401 & 416. More squalls are moving off Lake Ontario tonight so a few more centimetres are possible.

SnowStorm Totals:

Ontario:
OTTAWA 22 CM
GATINEAU 23 CM
PETAWAWA 8 CM
CORNWALL 23 CM PLUS 7 CM OF ICE
KEPTVILLE 20CM PLUS 3 HOURS OF FREEZING RAIN


Quebec:
CAMPBELL'S BAY... 15-20 CM
MANIWAKI.... 20 CM
MONT-LAURIER... 15 CM
MORIN HEIGHTS... 30 CM AT 09:00 AM
MIRABEL... 43 CM
ST-LIN-LAURENTIANS... 41 CM
RAWDON... 30 CM
L'ASSOMPTION... 18 CM
DORVAL... 41 CM
ST-HUBERT... 35-40 CM
ORMSTOWN... ABOUT 15 CM WITH 5-10MM OF ICE

Update.....
Very heavy snow continues in the St. Lawrence Valley. Montreal has had 19cm so far, (15cm in the last two hours!) Ottawa 10cm. Travel is poor, if you can wait a few more hours before heading out.

Busses Cancelled in area
Heavy Snow moves into Kemptville
Radar shows at 6am, Heavy Snow is now falling over the Ottawa and Seaway Valley from Trenton east to Montreal and north to Ottawa. The heaviest snow will fall until at least noon with total storm accumulations reaching 25cm. Overnight for at leat 3 hours freezing rain and sleet fell in Kmeptville & Ottawa. As a result expect to have to scrape your car for some time this morning. The threat of ice has passed it will be mainly a snow event for the balance of the storm. It should be over in Ontario by mid afternoon and tonight in Montreal.

Heavy Snow Warnings remain in effect for areas from Trenton to Ottawa and east to Quebec City. South of the border Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for New York and northern Vermont.

Of Note: All school busses are cancelled for the City of Ottawa, Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry, Prescott and Russell and Lanark, Leeds and Grenville. Some schools are closed as well.....

Winter Storm Warnings
extended to Montreal/Ottawa

Winter Storm Warnings are now in effect for all areas of Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec and Northern New England. The forecast is very simple...SNOW. Heavy snow will develop tonight and continue into Friday. Travel will become increasingly difficult in heavy snow and some blowing snow. Radar is showing the snow as far north and east as Toronto with the heaviest precipitation still south of the border. Heavy snow 15-30cm will fall across New York and Quebec / Ontario corridor along the 401 and up the Ottawa Valley.

Above: ValleyWeather Photo of Ice Fog and Black Ice in the

Seaway Valley this morning. Temps were as cold as -24C

Warnings Issued
The much anticipated winter storm is upon us. Heavy Snow Warnings have been posted for the entire southwest portion of Ontario from Windsor to the Quebec border including Leeds/Grenville and Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Counties.

There is also a Winter Storm Watch posted for New York and Northern Vermont. The snow will spread northeast over the day on Thursday and persist into Friday. Snow will accumulate from 10-15cm in Toronto and Southwest Ontario and 15-25cm in Ottawa and Montreal. I expect more warnings will be issued. Winds will be on the increase out of the east causing blowing snow in the St. Lawrence Valley.

Travel will become difficult by Friday morning. Plan accordingly.... this could be the worst stom in the last couple of years.

Winter Storm Update
A complex long weather event is shaping up for Ontario and southern Quebec over the next 48-72 hours. I don't have to tell you but "Baby Its Cold Out There!" Both my digital thermometers have frozen up this morning, lithium batteries or not......They stopped at -24C (-11F) for our US weatherverts. So needless to say the cold air is in place. It will remain in place as dual low pressure areas begin to converge on our area.

The first is a potent little clipper from western Canada that will slide across the lakes and produce 5-15cm of snow beginning mid day Thursday near the GTA and moving east towards the Quebec border by evening.

The second more significant storm will race up the east coast to be near Boston by late Friday. It will produce a swath of heavy snow and ice from just inland along the eastern seaboard from North Carolina north to New England, New York, Montreal and the Ottawa area. Too early to talk about amount but the 25cm amount is being tossed around by some weather folk. Stay tuned for any watches or warnings. So far only a Special Weather Statement is out.

Snowstorm on the way for
Eastern Ontario
The coldest air of the season is upon us. Temperatures last night were as cold as -22C in Kemptville. It is becoming more and more apparent that the biggest storm of this winter, and maybe last winter as well, will occur this Friday and Saturday. A major low pressure area is forecast to develop over the Gulf Coast. The storm fueled by tropical moisture and arctic cold will race up the east coast. Unlike other storms that have moved out to sea, this one is forecast to move inland over New England.

Montreal and Eastern Ontario will be in the projected storms heaviest swath of precipitation. A Special Weather Statement has been issued by the National weather Service for St. Lawrence County in New York.
It is early to give amounts but I will be following it closely. Plan for severe winter weather from late Thursday through Saturday morning.

The picture at right is a ValleyWeather Photo from Alight At Night at Upper Canada Village last Saturday Night. It was very breezy and cold but pleasant nonetheless.

An Alberta Clipper is giving snow and blowing snow to Manitoba and Saskatchewan, bringing to an end the mild weather of this past weekend. A statement has been issued.

Snow and more snow

The snow has eased in Ontario and Quebec as the system transfers its energy to a coastal storm that will pound Nova Scotia tonight. 15-25cm of snow are forecast there.

The storm yesterday was the primary factor in a Southwest Airlines 737 overshooting the runway at Chicago's Midland Airport killing a little boy on the ground.

~ At this hour a Freezing Rain Warning remains in effect for southern Saskatchewan. Travel is icy across the Assiniboia area south and east towards Rockglen and Estaven

~ The east coast storm moved dumped 6-10 inches of snow from Ohio to New York. In Ontario 150 accidents were reported in Metro Toronto as 10-20cm (4-8 inches) of snow fell. The 401 was closed for a spell west of Kingston.

Here are today's local totals:
WINDSOR 13 CM
BELLE RIVER 16CM
HARROW 21 CM
LEAMINGTON 20 CM
DELHI 12 CM
LONDON 10 CM (EST'D)
CAMBRIDGE (TOWN LINE RD) 12 CM
KITCHENER STANLEY PARK 13 CM
HAMILTON 10-15 CM (EST'D)
BARRIE 17 CM (EST'D)
TORONTO DOWNSVIEW 10.6 CM
TORONTO PEARSON AIRPORT 11 CM
TORONTO CITY 12 CM (EST'D)
TORONTO BATHURST/BLOOR 11.5 CM
TORONTO EAST YORK 10.6 CM
MARKHAM (BUTTONVILLE ARPT) 10 CM
TRENTON 10 CM
COBOURG 7 CM (EST'D)
PETERBOROUGH 7 CM (EST'D)
KINGSTON 10 CM
OTTAWA 5 CM
KEMPTVILLE 5 CM (EST'D)
ALEXANDRIA 5 CM
CORNWALL 8 CM

5-15cm of Snow for Southern and Eastern Ontario
More snow is approaching Ontario tonight. A deepening storm system with a center over the Ohio Valley and secondary development off the eastern seaboard of the US is advancing northeast. A wide area of snow will begin falling shortly in Windsor and spread north and east overnight. I believe the heaviest snow will stay south of Kemptville and The Seaway.
The heaviest snow at this time, over 15cm will fall from Windsor to Hamilton and south. North of there 5-10cm is expected from the GTA towards the Ottawa Valley. Winds along the north shore of Lake Erie will gust to 60km/h causing blowing snow and poor travel on the 401 tonight and Friday.

In the US, many areas of the northeast and southern New England are under Heavy Snow or Winter Storm Warnings. 15-30cm is expected in new York City and Boston. Further north snow advisories are in effect for most of central and southern New York and central New England.

More Cold & Snow
An Arctic Airmass will spill across the Great Lakes for the balance of the week resulting in the coldest air of the season so far. Temperatures will be as cold as -18C by Thursday morning in Eastern Ontario. Temperatures will fall through the day on Wednesday on breezy northwest winds. High temperatures will be reached in Kemptville and the Seaway early in the morning.

~ The snow will continue to pile up in Jefferson, Lewis and Oswego Counties in New York State along with the area just east of Georgian Bay. Lake Effect Snow Warnings are in effect. Thunder has even been reported today with the snow.

~ An intense winter storm is forecast to develop in the deep south tonight and spread snow and ice from Texas to the Northeast through the balance of the week. At this time it looks like the main area of precipitation will stay to our south and east with just flurries and cold air in Ontario. However it is early....stay tuned.

Snowsqualls in Ontario...cold in the west

Heavy snowsqualls continue to dump snow on southern Ontario and Western New York. The heaviest bands have been falling from Georgian Bay south and east all the wy to Lakes Ontario and Erie. They are producing white out conditions along the 401. Thunder has even been reported with the snow. Cold air is pouring into the region on the west side of low pressure located in Quebec. The record highs of this past week are but a distant memory. Even in other parts of Ontario, not affected by the squalls, snow contiues to fall. Several centimetres are expected in Ottawa and along the Seaway.

~ In the west biting cold is occurring with temperatures struggling to reach -10C.

The extended forecast in the east will continue the cold weather, with the potential for more snow into next week.