Warming trend for Montreal but with more snow forecast

Road conditions were terrible across southwestern Quebec and eastern Ontario on Sunday. This snowplow hit the ditch along Highway 401 near Prescott, Ontario. (OPP East Region Photo)

The biggest snowstorm of the season to date is winding down across southern Quebec on Monday afternoon. The frigid, windy storm produced numerous accidents, some school closures, flight delays and power outages. The storm had far reaching effects, impacting Ontario to Atlantic Canada south into New York, New England and the US Midwest.

Light snow and blowing snow continues in Montreal Monday afternoon, along with bitterly cold temperatures. After a morning low of -22C (-8F), the best we have managed so far is -20C (-4F). The cold temperatures combined with a stiff northwest wind, are producing windchill values in the minus 30s. Sunday's snowstorm, while not the worst the city has seen, was the coldest in almost a century for Montreal. The last time is was this cold during a major snowstorm was on January 16, 1920. On that day, Montreal received 30.2cm of snow with a daytime high of -19.2C. The high on Sunday was only -15C. The city received 25cm of snow, with 30cm falling in the Eastern Townships and close to 50cm in the Gaspe region. In Ontario, 35cm fell in Cornwall, 27cm in Ottawa and 22cm in Kemptville.

Heavy equipment cleaning the streets of Montreal during the storm. (CTV News)

The snow created very dangerous travel conditions with widespread blowing and drifting snow and near zero visibility on highways to the south and east of Montreal. Transport Quebec closed several roads east of Quebec City. Dozens of accidents were reported in the Montreal region as well as across eastern Ontario. The poor road conditions continued during the Monday morning commute, with the temperature being too cold for salt to work. Roads remained snow packed, with reports of black ice, poor visibility and many more accidents.

Road conditions will not improve much over the next few days, with cold weather forecast, followed by another winter storm on Wednesday. The good news is that temperatures should moderate into Wednesday, and may even go above freezing for a period. The bad news is we can expect another 10cm of snow in Montreal, mixed at times with freezing rain. Cold weather will return to end the work week.