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| Heavy wet snow accumulated rapidly in Montreal early Wednesday morning, with over 10cm falling in just a few hours. The snow melted away just as quickly as temperatures warmed above freezing in the afternoon. (ValleyWeather Photo) |
Spring was put on hold in Montreal for a few hours on Wednesday. The snow came quickly and melted away just as fast. A record-breaking 10cm accumulated in Montreal in just a few hours. It was enough to shatter the daily record of 7.6cm set in 1949. A strong coastal storm moved inland over New England producing heavy precipitation in Montreal. In all 33.8mm of precipitation occurred at Trudeau Airport, with half of that falling as snow, much of it melting on contact. The exception was during a three hour period early Wednesday morning when the 10cm accumulated. This was poorly timed during the morning commute across southern Quebec. During that window, the snow fell heavily, and accumulated quickly reducing visibility to less than a half kilometre and coating area highways.
Dozens of accidents were reported in metro Montreal and off island to the south and west. In addition to the heavy wet snow, winds gusted to 60km/h in Montreal. The wind and weight of the snow knocked power out to nearly 50,000 Hydro-Quebec customers across the southern portion of the province.
By midday, temperatures warmed enough that the snow mixed with rain and began to melt away. By early Thursday morning, only a few patches remained.
The weather will remain cool for April, with daytime highs in the upper single digits and lows near the freezing point into the upcoming weekend. A cold rain is forecast for Thursday, before decent weather on Friday and Saturday. More rain is forecast for Sunday in what has become a very wet April. Already 118.8mm has fallen at Trudeau Airport, well above the long-term average of 82.2mm.
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