New winter storm to bring snow, freezing rain and strong winds to southern Quebec

The continuous freeze and thaw cycle this winter has left many neighbourhoods across southern Quebec trapped under thick ice. Contractors, (above & below)) are putting in extra time trying to clear some of that ice from streets in Notre-Dame-de-L'Ile-Perrot. (Photos: Donna Dalton)

Southern Quebec and eastern Ontario are looking at another messy winter storm this weekend, with a mix of snow, freezing rain, rain and very strong winds. Special weather statements are currently in effect.

The calm before the next storm is expected to last through Saturday afternoon across southern Quebec. A small taste of spring is forecast for Montreal, with abundant sunshine and temperatures flirting with the freezing mark both Friday and Saturday. The good news ends rather abruptly after that. Low pressure is forecast to develop over northern Texas and deepen rapidly as it moves towards the central Great Lakes. Fuelled by tropical moisture on the east side and arctic cold on the backside of the system, the storm is forecast to become rather intense as it moves into Ontario and Quebec on Sunday afternoon.

The storm center will pass well west of Montreal, placing southern Quebec in the warm sector of the cyclone. Expect snow to develop along a warm front Saturday evening, changing quickly to freezing rain in Montreal and points south and west, and persisting into the overnight. Precipitation should change to rain on Sunday morning in Montreal. North and east of the city, as well as across far western Quebec, the dominant precipitation type will be snow, with 15 to 30cm forecast. Here in Montreal, we can expect a messy 10 to 20mm of freezing rain and rain.

As the storm moves east of Montreal, rain will change back to snow and blowing snow late Sunday evening, with 5 to 10cm possible by Monday morning. All this precipitation will be driven around by very strong winds, up to 90km/h on Sunday and Monday across eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. The temperature will rise to 0C (32F) Saturday, and 3C (38F) Sunday in Montreal. As the cold front crosses the area late Sunday, temperatures will fall rapidly in the snow and wind, down to -5C (23F) by Monday morning.

The combination of mixed precipitation and strong winds will make for difficult travel from late Saturday into Monday. In addition to falling precipitation, look for a flash freeze again in Montreal late Sunday.