Wet weekend for Montreal after record warmth

A sure sign of spring across southern Quebec, as the geese are starting to return. Montreal reached a record high of 15.8C on Thursday afternoon. More mild weather and rain are forecast for the upcoming weekend. Spring arrives at 11:33AM on Sunday morning.

Thursday was a spectacular day, feeling more like mid spring than late winter. A southwest breeze and bright sunshine allowed the temperature to reach a record-breaking high of 15.8C (61F) in Montreal, surpassing the previous benchmark for the date of 14.4C (57F) set in 2010. A weak cold front settled south across the region overnight, so Friday will not be as warm, but sunny and mild nevertheless, reaching 11C (52F).

Developing low pressure over the US Midwest will arrive over the weekend, with rain expected Saturday, and a showery first day of spring for Sunday. Clouds will increase late Friday, followed by rain overnight into Saturday. The rain will become more scattered in nature Saturday afternoon into Sunday. In total, Montreal can expect 15 to 20mm of precipitation. Gusty winds are likely on Saturday as well, out of the northeast at 20 to 40km/h. We will have a damp and chilly high of 7C (45F), but this is still above the long-term average of  3C (38F). 

There is a risk of freezing rain and wet snow ell northeast of Montreal towards Quebec City, so keep this in mind if your travel take you in that direction on Saturday. Despite the mild air, there is always a chance of more wintry precipitation as we end March and start April. At this time however, our forecast looks mild, with no major storms on the horizon.

Increased snowmelt and the expected precipitation this weekend, will have water flow and ice conditions on area rivers and lakes highly variable. The best advice is stay off the ice and out of the water in the Montreal region.