Icy travel anticipated for Saturday night in Montreal

Freezing Rain Warning in effect for southern Quebec, eastern Ontario and northern New York.

Despite the fact that most of Canada has already experienced snow and cold, December 1st is actually the start of meteorological winter. Right on cue we have some icy weather in our immediate future. A deepening low pressure area will move across the central Great Lakes over the next 24 hours, bringing with it a surge of mild, moist air. The temperature in Montreal will actually go above normal this weekend, for the first time in several weeks. Unfortunately before that happens, we are looking at a few hours of wet snow and freezing rain.

The cloud cover has been very stubborn to erode this week, as is typical in November. Our best bet for seeing any sunshine will come on Saturday, along with high temperatures of 1C (34F). The aforementioned system arrives tonight, with rapidly increasing clouds, followed by precipitation after midnight. Expect freezing rain to begin in Montreal after midnight, possibly starting as a brief period of snow. The freezing rain should transition to rain by 8am Sunday, with 5mm of ice accretion possible in Montreal. The freezing rain will persist northeast of Montreal and in the Ottawa Valley through mid-morning Sunday. The weather will turn showery on Sunday, with a mild high of 4C (40F).

Cold weather returns
The upcoming week will feature mild weather Monday before a sharp cold front returns arctic air to the region. Temperatures will go form well above freezing to well below by Tuesday, along with flurries. The cold weather will persist into next weekend, with several opportunities for light snow.