Typical October weather weekend ahead for Montreal

A spectacular double rainbow appeared in the skies over Montreal after a late afternoon shower on October 1st. (Valley Weather Photo)

September has drawn to a close and October is underway looking like, well, Montreal in October. I just love October skies and Thursday did not disappoint. The sky was busy to say the least, with pop up showers and dark clouds mixing with bright sunshine and deep blue fall skies, all against the backdrop of colourful foliage. Add a spectacular afternoon double rainbow and an evening full harvest moon and it was a sight for the senses.

Friday will not feature such vibrant skies, but more of a general overcast across southern Quebec. Low pressure will be lifting northeast across New England, while a cold front progresses through the region. The clouds will produce numerous showers and perhaps a rumble or two of thunder. Temperatures will be near normal, with a daytime high near 14C (56F) and overnight lows dipping to 5C (41F). The weekend will remain cloudy, with the odd shower and seasonably cool temperatures. Highs will be near 15C, with lows close to 0C in many locations.

The growing season came to an early end in many locations across southern Quebec in September. This was well ahead of the long-term average for the region and the second earliest freeze on record. Despite this, temperatures soared into the upper 20s a week later. (Valley Weather Photo)

September was certainly a strange month in Montreal. I had anticipated extended warmth from our hot summer, but sadly that was not the case. Temperatures ended up 0.5 degrees below normal in Montreal, with an average of 15C (59F). Most of the month featured highs either side of the 20 degree mark, but there were a few exceptions. We had a very early frost for southern Quebec, with below freezing temperature in many locations around the 20th of the month. I had frost on Ile Perrot on September 21st, the second earliest end to the growing season on record for the region. The end of the month however featured a couple of days with well above normal temperatures. Montreal reached 28C (83F) on the 27th, along with elevated humidity levels. The mini heatwave lasted three days. The high humidity levels made it feel like south Florida and not southern Quebec.

The majority of September was rain-free in Montreal, with 76mm of precipitation falling at Trudeau Airport. The long-term normal for the month is 83mm. However most of the rain fell on only three days, 22mm on the 13th, followed by 33mm over 48 hours ending on the 30th.