April Nor'Easter to bring rain and snow to southern Quebec

A late season coastal storm will pull enough cold air into the region Monday night to produce wet snow. The heaviest snow will fall north and east of Montreal, but a few slushy centimetres are possible in the St. Lawrence Valley after midnight. (AccuWeather.com)

Rain will mix with snow overnight into Tuesday across the Montreal region, with the possibility of several centimetres accumulation for the city, more to the north and east. I expect most of the snow to remain on colder surfaces, but there may be some slick spots on area roads.

After a rather breezy and chilly Easter weekend, Monday has dawned delightful, with light winds and sunny skies. The temperatures will moderate after early morning lows near the freezing point to a daytime high of 10C (50F) in Montreal.

April can be a tricky weather month across North America as the seasons battle for supremacy. Last week, temperatures soared into the 30s (80-90F) across the eastern US, while in the west, an historic blizzard shut down parts of North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. A record-breaking 36 inches (91.4cm) of wind blown snow fell over three days at Minot, North Dakota, shutting down all travel including Interstate 94 and US 2 shown above. (North Dakota Department of Transportation) 

The good weather will not last very long, as two areas of low pressure begin to impact the region. The first will move into southern Ontario later today before weakening. A second low pressure along the US east coast will become the primary storm, moving into southern New England on Tuesday while strengthening. Clouds will increase late in the day today, with precipitation in the form of rain beginning this evening in Montreal. The rain will mix with and change to wet snow overnight. The snow may be heavy at times across some parts of southern Quebec, with a general 5-10cm possible in many locations. In the immediate St. Lawrence Valley, warm surfaces should help to keep accumulations below 5cm. The snow should mix with rain by Tuesday morning before ending in the afternoon.

Winds will be rather brisk on Tuesday, gusting between 30-60km/h. Tuesday will be raw for mid-April, with a high expected of only 3C (38F) for Montreal. Regions northeast of Montreal towards Quebec City and the lower St. Lawrence can expect more snow, with 10-20cm possible.

Heavy wet snow is also forecast across the Adirondacks of northern New York, where as much as 25cm may fall by Wednesday morning. A winter storm warning has been issued for those regions.

Skies will clear out Wednesday in Montreal along with milder daytime temperatures of 9C (48F).