Dangerous cold from coast to coast to end 2017

Dangerous cold  is forecast, with windchill readings approaching -60C in parts of the country.

Cleaning up on L'Ile Perrot after 15cm of snow on Christmas Day. (ValleyWX Photo)

Another 10-20cm of snow fell across southern Quebec on Christmas Day, bringing the monthly total in Montreal to 60cm (2 feet). But this is nothing compared to the snow that has been piling up around the Great Lakes. In Erie, Pensylvania, from midnight to 6am Tuesday morning, 19 inches (48.2cm) of snow fell on the city. In less than 48 hours, 53 inches (134cm) has fallen and a whopping monthly total of 95.5" (235cm). That is roughly the average for Montreal for the entire season.

Over 134cm (53 inches) of lake effect snow fell on Erie, Pennsylvania in less than 48 hours. (Photo: Erie News Now)

In Montreal, arctic air is pouring into the area this Tuesday afternoon, on gusty northwest winds. At 2pm, Montreal was -13C (9F), with winds in excess of 50km/h and a windchill value of -23C (-9F). Blowing snow was also occurring making for slick highway travel outside the city. If you can believe it, that is likely the warmest temperature Montreal will see through Saturday. Dangerous cold has prompted extreme cold or windchill warnings from Alberta to Atlantic Canada. This morning, Fort Severn, Ontario was the coldest location in Canada at -45C (-49F), with a windchill of -55C (-67F). They are located almost 3800km from the North Pole. In Alberta temperatures hovered around -30C. In Saskatchewan, Val Marie in the deep southern part of the province near the Montana border, was -37C.

The forecast for southern Quebec calls for dry conditions but bitter cold through at least Friday. The overnight lows will range from -24C to -30C (-11F to -22F), with daytime highs struggling to get to -18C (0F). The coldest temperature I have recorded here at my home on L'Ile Perrot since we moved here in 2009, was -28.2C (-19F) on January 8, 2015. We will see if that reading is in jeopardy this week.