Arctic outbreak to skirt southern Quebec

This very Canadian image of kids playing hockey on an icy Highway 40, east of Montreal, has gone viral. The children, along with hundreds of motorists, were forced into a long wait after a multiple vehicle accident closed the highway for several hours on Sunday. The video has been shared around the world by several major news organizations and on social media. I obtained the screenshot from CBC.ca

A fierce cold wave is underway across western and central Canada from southern Saskatchewan into Ontario. The extreme cold has forced the cancellation of schools and the closure of businesses across the upper Midwest, northern Plains and into the southern Prairies. Temperatures dropped into the -40s Wednesday morning, including -47C at Collins Bay, Saskatchewan. In Winnipeg, the temperature bottomed out near -40C, with windchill values in the -50s. The cold airmass is crossing over the much warmer Great Lakes, producing heavy snow in the lake effect snow-belts. In western New York, a blizzard warning has been issued for Jefferson and Lewis Counties, including Watertown, New York and the I-81 corridor. Interstate 81 is a well travelled route by Canadians heading south, but not in the next 48 hours. The forecast calls for as much as 3 feet of wind-driven snow, with temperatures near -18C (0F). Travel is not advised. Further west in Erie County, New York, a state of emergency and travel ban have been put in place. Some of that snow is drifting northeast this afternoon and affecting Highway 401 west of Cornwall towards Kington.

All across central Canada and the northern US, widespread cold and windchill warnings are in effect. Even locally windchill advisories are up for northern New York and Vermont. The arctic boundary will cross southern Quebec later today, with a few clouds, flurries and gusty west winds. The temperature will drop to -21C (-6F) in Montreal tonight, with windchills in the -30s. Sunshine is expected Thursday, along with strong west winds up to 50km/h, and a cold high of -15C (5F). The weather will remain cold into the start of the weekend, along with the chance for more light snow. Temperatures will warm up on Sunday and into early next week with the chance for snow, rain or freezing rain.

On Tuesday, the combination of a weakening clipper system and a coastal low, produced snow across southern Quebec. While amounts were less than expected, we still managed 10 to 25cm across the region. In Montreal, about 12cm fell, enough to create slow travel on slick roads.