Warmer air will bring a round of freezing rain to Montreal

Frozen In Time...Saturday was Groundhog Day, with the various rodents across North America unable to agree on whether or not we will have an early Spring. It may be Springtime before this motorist is able to free their car in Saint-Laurent. More messy precipitation is on the way for Montreal this week. (Valley Weather Photo)

 A milder weather pattern will establish itself over the next 48 hours across eastern Ontario and southern Quebec. On Saturday, a weak clipper system proved to be quite the nuisance, producing between 5 and 15cm of snow, depending whose measurements you believe, and creating chaos on area roads. Despite the light amount of snowfall, several major accidents occurred, including a 200 vehicle pile-up on Highway 20 near Val-Alain, east of Montreal. There were scores of smaller accidents across the region as well.

Our attention today turns to a warm front moving north from southern New England. As the warmer air overrides the cold air at the surface, light snow will start late this afternoon in southern Quebec. The snow will mix with and change to freezing rain in the St. Lawrence Valley overnight and into early Monday. The freezing rain should be on the light side, so the hope is that any impacts will be minimal. However weather warnings may be required later today. The temperature will rise form early Sunday readings in the minus teens, up to -5C (23F) today. The weather will continue to warm overnight, approaching 0C (32F) in Montreal by noon on Monday. If all goes as planned, the city should warm above the freezing point Monday afternoon.

This weeks warming trend will be a welcome sight across the western counties of New York State. Over the last week, several regions, including Adams, New York, shown above, were buried under feet of lake effect snow. (Adams VFD Photo)

Right behind that batch of precipitation, a stronger system will cross the Great Lakes on Monday, bringing another round of freezing rain and eventually plain rain as the temperature continues to warm late in the day. On Tuesday, a cold front will bring a return to cooler temperatures, along with flurries. The weather will remain active through the balance of the week, with another storm system arriving by Thursday along a mix of snow and freezing rain once again.

In the near-term, the cold, arctic air that prevailed across Great Lakes, will retreat across western Canada. A winter storm will produce blizzard conditions today from extreme southern Saskatchewan across southern Manitoba, northern Montana and into the Dakotas. Extremely cold air and dangerous windchill values will prevail all week across western Canada.