Spring off to a slow start in Montreal

The snow is slowly melting in Montreal and across southern Quebec. Despite objections to the cold start to spring, this weather pattern has actually reduced the flood threat for the moment.

Colder than normal weather continues to dominate the landscape across southern Quebec and parts of Ontario, despite some warmth and sunshine this past week. The melting process has been very slow at best, which in the long run, will help with flooding concerns. For most people however, the continued cool weather and lack of sunshine has resulted in a rather depressing start to spring.

There has been plenty of warm air across North America, just not in Quebec or eastern Ontario. In Montreal, our average temperature for the month of March currently sits at -3.7C (25F), almost 2 degrees below the normal of -2C (29F). Our warmest temperature this month was only 9.9C (49F). Cold temperatures have been common during the overnight period, with an average low of -7.8C (18F), and an extreme low of -18.9C (-2F). It has been a windy, damp month with almost 30.4mm of rainfall. Snowfall has thankfully been below normal, with only 19.6cm falling at Trudeau Airport, 16cm of that on March 10th alone.

Weekend Storm

Temperatures will start to slowly warm up during the first week of April, but not before we get another messy storm this weekend. A cold front will sink south across southern Quebec late Thursday and then stall over northern New England. Several waves of low pressure will move along the front Saturday and Sunday, with precipitation developing over Ontario and moving into Quebec. Most of the precipitation will be in the form of rain, but there is a good chance for wet snow across the higher elevation of eastern Ontario and especially north of Montreal. On Sunday, even Montreal may see a a few hours of wet snow. Rainfall amounts will be in the 15 to 25mm range, along with a couple of centimetres of snow. It is possible that some locations north of the city, may see in excess of 10cm of wet snow.

The dividing line between rain and snow will be very close to Montreal late Saturday, depending on where the aforementioned front settles. This forecast is subject to change depending on the final track of the storm. 

Friday will be quite mild in Montreal, around 8C (47F). The weather will be much colder this weekend, with thick clouds and rain or snow keeping temperatures down around 2C (36F). Skies should clear early Monday, with an extended period of sunshine forecast next week, and high temperatures warming to near 10C (50F) to start April.