Wet and windy Halloween in Montreal

The steady rain should taper off to showers in time for trick or treating Sunday evening in Montreal. Temperatures will hold steady between 8C and 10C.

Deepening low pressure will lift from Cape Cod northwest towards Sherbrooke this Halloween, spreading rain into southern Quebec and extreme eastern Ontario. The rain will be steady, if not heavy at times, with an additional 25mm forecast for Montreal. Around 15mm has already fallen across southern regions of the province since midday Saturday. I am still hopeful that the heaviest precipitation will lift off to the northeast by 6pm, allowing for trick or treating in Montreal. In terms of temperatures, they should remain steady for most of the day around 10C (50F), dropping to 8C (48F) by 6pm.

The evening won't be perfect for the kids, showery at times, damp and cool, but nothing they can't handle. Halloween has taken a beating over the last three years, with the Mayor of Montreal cancelling it in 2019 due to poor weather (although we has nearly 100 kids in the rain and wind on Ile Perrot), followed by the Covid nonsense in 2020 and now more rain this year. We are certainly ready with our treats for the ghosts and goblins, but not really sure what to expect.

I do remember how exciting Halloween was as a kid growing up in the 1970s. I will tell you one thing, the weather never stopped us. 

Looking ahead to Monday, a cold front will slide across the St. Lawrence Valley accompanied by a shower or two, and strong west winds up to 60km/h. Temperatures will hold steady around 9C (49F) Monday before dropping do 5C (41F) by Tuesday morning.

There remains the chance for some light snow flurries midweek across our regions, as colder air settles into Ontario and Quebec.

Powerful Nor'Easter hammers New England

A tree lies across a car in Duxbury, Massachusetts after a powerful early season Nor'Easter delivered winds in excess of 75mph to the region. Over 330,000 residents remain without power Thursday morning, including entire communities. (WBZ)

Residents of coastal New England are cleaning up on Thursday after the first Nor'Easter of the season hammered the region on Wednesday with hurricane-force winds and towering waves.

Winds remain gusty across southern Quebec early Thursday morning, in response to high pressure moving in form the northwest and strong low pressure moving out to sea east of New England. The Nor'Easter produced wind gusts up to 60km/h (37 mph) on Wednesday in Montreal.

The storm was much more impactful across coastal regions of New England, with heavy rain and hurricane-force winds reported. Winds gusted between 75 and 100 mph (119 to 160km/h) in many communities from southern Maine to Rhode Island. Hundreds of trees came down, many onto homes and vehicles. Over 500,000 residents were without power at the height of the storm on Wednesday. Nearly 330,000 remain without power Thursday morning, with dozens of schools closed for a second straight day.

A small aircraft sustained serious damage after being tossed by the wind in New Bedford, Massachusetts on Wednesday. (WBZ)

Thirty foot waves pounded the shoreline, with some roads closed due to flooding. The storm also produced 25 to 100mm (1-4 inches) of rain across the region. Officially just under 15mm fell in Montreal, as we remained on the far western edge of the storm system.

The storm in question developed early in the week off the mid-Atlantic coast, before rapidly intensifying southeast of New England. The system become a weather bomb, with the central pressure dropping more than 24 millibars in less than 24 hours.

The stormy weather pattern is expected to persist, with another system arriving on Saturday. Rain is forecast this weekend in Montreal, likely tapering off to scattered showers in time for Halloween. 

A strong cold front is expected to arrive by next Wednesday, with the possibility of accumulating snow for some portions of southern Ontario, Quebec and northern New England.

Stormy weather pattern developing across North America

While we await our first taste of winter here in southern Quebec, the weather is turning stormy in other parts of our region. Wet snow greeted motorists across the highest elevations of northern New Hampshire on Monday morning. (New Hampshire Department of Transportation)

October can be a month of transition as we head into winter. So far, the weather has been a rather tame in Montreal compared to previous years. While we flirted with the freezing point this past weekend in Montreal, we remain frost and snow free to date. Weather patterns are beginning to change across North America, and we are seeing more major storm systems developing.

The upcoming week will certainly turn more stormy over eastern North America, with several systems impacting the region. Low pressure over the Great Lakes will move south of Montreal, while a second stronger storm system develops off the eastern seaboard. The second system will produce very heavy rain and strong winds across portions of New England, but the worst of the weather should remain south of Montreal.

A strong Nor'Easter, the first of the season, is forecast to develop early this week southeast of Long Island. Montreal will remain on the northern edge of the storm, with gusty northeast winds and showers. Temperatures will be rather chilly to start the week. (AccuWeather.com)

Showers are forecast today into Tuesday across southern Quebec, with perhaps 15 to 20mm of rain, far less than what was expected 24 hours ago. Chilly northeast winds will develop on Monday and persist into Tuesday, gusting at times to 60km/h in the St. Lawrence Valley. Temperatures will be chilly, remaining in the single digits through Tuesday, and perhaps reaching 12C (54F) by Wednesday.

Another potent storm system is expected to arrive by Friday, with more rain and wind expected into Halloween. I am hopeful at this time that the precipitation should taper off in time for trick or treating in Montreal.

The current storm is expected produce very heavy rainfall and wind gusts over 100km/h for portions of coastal New England. Some snow was even falling Monday morning across the highest elevations of extreme southeastern Quebec, northern Maine and New Hampshire. Power outages and coastal flooding are anticipated. The stormy weather will spread into far eastern Quebec and Atlantic Canada by mid-week.

A series of powerful west coast storms are delivering heavy rain and hurricane force winds to parts of the Pacific northwest and British Columbia. The energy from those systems will eventually fuel new storms over the central portion of the continent to end October and start November.

First frost of the season on the horizon for Montreal

A frost warning may be required for metro Montreal for Saturday night.

The onset of the cold weather has certainly been slow across eastern Canada this fall. Southern Quebec experienced another mild day on Wednesday, with high temperatures in the middle to upper teens across the region. Trudeau Airport registered a high of 18.2C (65F), well above the long-term average of 11C (52F) for the date. We are already at 13C (55F) Thursday morning. This trend will persist for another day or so before a potent cold front arrives on Friday.

Ahead of that front, we can expect scattered showers Thursday, with a period of steady rain and perhaps a rumble of thunder late tonight and into the wee hours Friday morning.  On Friday, Montreal will have a noticeable change in the airmass, as temperatures drop into the upper single digits by afternoon, along with a gusty west wind up to 40km/h. Clouds will persist with perhaps a sprinkle or two.

Skies will be partly cloudy throughout the weekend, along with seasonable temperatures. If skies clear out completely Saturday night into Sunday morning, there is a very good chance that Montreal will have the first frost of the season. The overnight low is expected to drop to the freezing point in the city and below in the suburbs. The average day of the first frost in Montreal is October 5.

Beyond the weekend, seasonable temperatures are expected next week, with no major storms on the horizon at this point.

Strong cold front to bring an end to the warm weather in Montreal

A return to reality...

Much cooler, fall weather will return this weekend to southern Quebec. High temperatures on Sunday will only be in the low teens.

Temperatures have been running well-above normal this week across southern Quebec as our warm and dry fall weather persists. The morning low on Thursday was only 16.8C (61F), which established a new record for maximum low temperature that dates back to 1970 (15C). Montreal has had no frost as of today, which places us well behind the last couple of years and certainly short of the average date of October 5. Looking ahead, we should make it to end of the month in the Montreal metro region with no frost or freezing temperatures.

That being said, we will see a dip in the temperatures and a return to more seasonable weather for mid-October. Dirty high pressure has been in control of our weather this week, with plenty of low level moisture, humidity and cloud cover trapped at the surface. The result has been a very warm, but rather gloomy week, with just a few breaks and even some mist or drizzle at times.

Over the next 24 hours a warm front will lift across the region, accompanied by showers. On Saturday, a strong cold will approach the St. Lawrence Valley during the early afternoon, accompanied by steady rain and even a few embedded thunderstorms. At this time rainfall amounts look to be significant, with up to 30mm in Montreal, and locally in excess of 50mm across portions of eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. The weather has been a very dry this month, with only 8.2mm of rain to date.

The front will also usher in much colder air. High temperatures will be either side of 21C (70F) today and Saturday, but dip into the single digits by Sunday morning. The high on Sunday and Monday, with lingering clouds and showers will struggle to reach 10C (50F). Overnight lows will return to reality, dropping to 4 to 6C (39 to 43F).

The front will also produce a period of gusty southwest winds on Saturday, backing to the northwest late in the day, between 40 and 60km/h in Montreal.

Record warmth in eastern Canada - snow out west

Portions of several Interstates were closed on Tuesday afternoon, stranding travelers from Montana into Wyoming and South Dakota. The snow spread into southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba late Wednesday. Meanwhile the weather has been warm in eastern Canada, with highs in the middle 20s and overnight lows warmer than the long-term highs for the date. (Montana Department of Transportation)

A large ridge across the eastern portion of the country is providing Montreal and most of southern Quebec and Ontario with unseasonably mild fall weather. Thanksgiving weekend was spectacular, with just a few clouds and sprinkles Sunday but otherwise very warm and pleasant. Temperatures have been in the low to middle 20s, a full ten degrees above average. Tuesdays high temperature of 23.8C (74F) at Trudeau Airport was just one tenth of a degree away from the record high set in 1961. Several new high temperature records were established from New Brunswick to Ontario.

The mild weather will persist into Saturday before the arrival of a potent cold front. Temperatures will remain mild throughout that time frame, with highs in the low 20s, and overnight lows in the middle teens.

By Saturday the aforementioned cold front will arrive in Montreal with and increase in clouds, windy conditions and some heavier showers. The wet weather will persist into Sunday along with much cooler temperatures, only near 12C (54F) for a high. Overnight lows will drop into the single digits to start next week.

Western Snow

While the east has been warm, the first taste of winter has arrived across the west. Strong low pressure moving from Colorado to Manitoba, has produced a swath of heavy wet snow. Between 30-60cm of snow fell across portions of Wyoming, Montana and far western South Dakota. Travelers were left stranded as numerous highways were closed including Interstate 90 from Rapid City, South Dakota into Wyoming.

The wet snow also spread into portions of southeast Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba on Wednesday, with up 2 to 10cm possible. A special weather statement has been issued for those locations for low visibility in falling snow as well as icy and potentially snow covered roads. On Thanksgiving Day, light snow fell across the foothills of Alberta as far east as Calgary. The western storm is forecast to lift into northern Ontario while weakening. 

No snow is on the horizon for Montreal.

Above normal temperatures set to return to southern Quebec

It was a rainy weekend in Montreal, with a decent amount of precipitation falling in many locations around the city. Trudeau Airport for some reason only measured 7.2mm through Sunday evening, while just a few kilometres to the southwest, 18mm fell in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue with 27.8mm on Ile Perrot.

It was a rather chilly, raw weekend in Montreal, feeling very much like the start of October. Saturday was a wash out, with almost 25mm (1 inch) of rain falling across portions of southwestern Quebec. The weekend total was only 7.2mm at Trudeau Airport, but I seriously question that measurement, as most other stations around the area recorded amounts in excess of 15mm. I measured 27.8mm for the weekend on Ile Perrot, with 29mm at St Anicet and 18mm at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. A private weather station at the Baie d'Urfe Yacht Club recorded over 30mm Saturday alone.

Monday will be cloudy and rather cool, with clearing skies sitting just to our north. Seriously you can see the blue skies, just look to the north they have been sitting there for over 24 hours now. The frontal boundary that brought the rain is slowly sinking south over New England this morning. Skies should begin to clear out later today, along with warming temperatures. The balance of the week will feature warm and dry weather, with highs expected either side of 20C (68F). As a matter of fact, the first two weeks of October are expected to have warmer than normal temperatures. The average high for early October is 15C (59F) and the low 5C (41F). Montreal should remain well above those values right through Thanksgiving weekend. There is no risk of frost at this time.