Wicked Nor'Easter to ease grip - milder air on the way

Frigid cold and blowing snow made travel difficult in southern Quebec on Friday. (ValleyWeather)

The powerful winter storm that made headlines from Florida to Labrador, will slowly begin to ease its grip on southern Quebec today. For over 24 hours, Montreal has experienced winds in excess of 60km/h, combined with bitter cold and light snow. Visibility at times has been close to zero, especially southwest of the city. On Friday, the Surete du Quebec were advising against travel outside the metro area. Roads were snow packed, icy and visibility was poor. Numerous highways were closed after cars and truck hit the ditch. The wind and cold produced dangerous windchill readings in the middle minus 30s. The frigid weather will persist today, with a high of -20C (-4F) and windchill values between -30 and -40C. The good news is that we will see a moderation in temperatures starting Sunday and persisting this week. We may even see high temperatures nudge above the freezing point by Thursday or Friday. Unfortunately the warmer weather will come at a price, with 5-10cm of snow forecast to start the week, and a messy mix to end it. That mixed precipitation may include a prolonged period of freezing rain. However, the devil is in the details, it will depend on the storm track next weekend. This will have to be watched closely. In any event, temperatures are expected to be closer to normal for the second half of January.

Just one of the many power poles and infrastructure under assault in Nova Scotia form the Blizzard of 2018. (Nova Scotia Power Photo)

The Blizzard of 2018
As bad as conditions were in southern Quebec, we were on the far western edge of this powerful storm. The coastlines were hammered with record setting tides and surf. Widespread flooding and major damage was reported along the New England coast on Thursday. Boston Harbor measured a new record high tide, surpassing those of the famous Blizzard of 1978. Flooding and coastal damage was also observed in Nova Scotia. In Nova Scotia, winds were fierce, with a peak gust of 170km/h (105mph) at Grand Etang on Cape Breton Island. The wind, rain and snow cut power to over 140,000 customers according to Nova Scotia Power. In Quebec, heavy snow and blowing snow stretched from the Eastern Townships towards the Gaspe and Lower North Shore. Winds reached over 100km/h in many sections of the lower St Lawrence Valley, closing highways and business. The storm had a tremendous impact on air travel, with over 4000 flights cancelled on Thursday alone across eastern North America. Several airports are still working through the backlog of passengers this weekend. In the deep south, some airports remained closed Friday, covered in a blanket of snow and shivering in record cold.

Major flooding from record setting high tides was reported along the New England coast. (Photo: Duxbury, Massachusetts Fire Department)