Welcome to meteorological spring

March can be a very warm month, or a cruel reminder that it is still winter for a few more weeks. History has shown us here in Montreal, that our biggest storms of the year can occur, including the Storm of the Century, shown above, from March 3-5, 1971. You can read more about the 71 storm HERE.  (Meteo Media Photo)

It may not feel like spring, but the sun is getting brighter and the days are getting longer. From a weather standpoint, we are entering the spring season, although the calendar does not catch up for a few weeks. Unfortunately this year, the weather won't catch up either. We are in the middle of a cold snap that should prevail well into next week. Temperatures across southern Quebec have been well below the normal high/low for early March of -1C (30F) and -10C (14F) respectively.

March will come in lion like across parts of New England, but Montreal should remain on the northern edge of both storms this weekend. Expect only light snow, with perhaps 2 to 7cm total accumulation.

Before moving forward I will take a quick look back at the month of February, a month that was cold, but certainly not record breaking. The daily average high was -3.9C (24.9F), with an average low of -13.1C (8.4F). Those numbers are just slightly below normal, with the low being nudged down a little by our current cold spell. Montreal received 65.6cm of snow, powered by the 40cm snowstorm on the 12th. Normal February snow is 41.2cm. We managed 7 days above freezing, including a high of 6.4C on the 8th. An additional 24.4mm of rain fell in Montreal during February, that combined with the frequent freeze and thaw cycles, have left many parts of the city covered in a thick layer of ice.

As we look forward to March, we can expect a very cold start to the first month of spring. Temperatures are forecast to be well below normal through the first two weeks. After that we will see a pronounced pattern change, with above normal temperatures expected after the middle of the month.

In the short-term, two separate storm systems are expected to pass well south of Montreal, Saturday and again late Sunday. While a moderate snowfall is forecast across New England, Montreal should remain on the northern edge of both storms. Light snow will spread into southern Quebec on Saturday, accumulating 2 to 5cm along the St. Lawrence Valley. A stronger storm late Sunday will produce another 2 to 5cm as it moves along the New England coast. The morning commute Monday in Montreal may be a little tricky, but we are not expecting a big storm at this time.