Strong damaging winds forecast for Ontario & Quebec

Montreal can expect strong winds to develop on Sunday, persisting into Monday. Wind speeds in the deeper purple areas, may exceed 90km/h in some locations. (AccuWeather)

Deepening low pressure over southern Michigan Sunday morning, will lift into southern Quebec through Monday afternoon. The storm is forecast to bomb out to a 970mb low while entering Quebec. Freezing rain and sleet have already spread into Quebec on Sunday morning, with precipitation expected to change to rain in metro Montreal. Mixed precipitation, including heavy snow, will continue across other regions of Quebec, including Quebec City where 30cm of snow is forecast. Precipitation will become spotty at times in Montreal through the early afternoon, before the arrival of a strong cold front this evening.

Powerful Winds up to 100km/h

The cold front will be accompanied by bursts of heavy snow, along with very strong winds. Winds are forecast to increase out of the southwest up to 50km/h today in Montreal, and up to 90km/h this evening into Monday. Wind speeds will likely exceed 100km/h along the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario as well as portions of the St. Lawrence Valley. Winds of this strength are capable of producing damage to trees and power lines. Widespread weather warnings are in effect across the entire region for strong winds, blowing snow and freezing rain. Accompanying the wind will be 2 to 5cm of snow in eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. The snow, combined with rapidly dropping temperature and the gusty winds, will produce dangerous travel and low visibility through Monday morning.

The same storm bringing Montreal freezing rain and strong winds, produced multiple tornadoes across the southern US. The image above is from Columbus, Mississippi on Saturday evening. (AccuWeather Photo)

Temperatures will rise above freezing for a time today in Montreal, up to 3C (38F) early Sunday afternoon. After the passage of the cold front, the mercury will plunge down to -5C (23F) by morning, and continue to drop all day Monday, down to -10C (14F) by late in the day. Expect icy, extremely variable and difficult travel conditions across all regions of southern Quebec and eastern Ontario through Monday.

This same storm system has been responsible for major flash flooding across the southern US, along with strong thunderstorms and tornadoes. From the southern Rockies into the central Great Lakes, blizzard conditions have been reported along with multiple road closures.