Another round of record-breaking warmth for Montreal

Montreal has been enjoying very warm temperatures so far this fall along with little in the way of precipitation. This trend will persist into the upcoming weekend, with several high temperature records set to fall.

Strong high pressure moving across southern Quebec Thursday afternoon, is allowing for rapidly warming temperatures from this mornings chilly lows. The temperature dropped to 0C (32F) in Montreal under clear skies and calm winds early this morning, but has since warmed to 17C (63F) as of 2pm.

We are in for another stretch of record-breaking warmth as southerly winds increase on Friday and into the weekend. The high on Friday is forecast at 21C (70F), likely surpassing the previous benchmark for the date of 18.3C (65F) set in 1956. On Saturday, we are expecting even warmer conditions on gusty southwest winds, with a high near 24C (76F). This would smash the record for Saturday of 19C (66F) set in 1988. Clouds will increase Saturday evening, with a chance for showers on Sunday. The mild weather will persist however, with highs in the middle to upper teens forecast through Monday.

The warm and dry conditions are just a continuation of the weather southwestern Quebec experienced in October. The average high in Montreal last month was 10.4C, well above the normal of 8.5C. We had only 44% of the normal precipitation, with 40mm of rain falling at Trudeau Airport. The long-term normal is 91mm. We had no snow again last month, a trend dating back to the last October snowfall in 2018.

Temperatures were above normal across the entire province of Quebec during October, a trend that is expected to continue well into November. (Environment Canada)

While we continue enjoy temperatures more similar to late August, western Canada will be shivering in sub-freezing weather. Below normal temperatures have swept across Alberta and Saskatchewan, and are moving east into Manitoba. Accompanying the cold has been another round of snow. More snow and cold weather is expected during the upcoming week as a deep trough carves itself out across western North America.

A modified version of that cold air will arrive in Montreal by mid-week with highs dropping down into the single digits by Wednesday and lows below freezing. Enjoy this weekend and take advantage of the weather to finish any outdoor chores that may remain before the snow flies. 

While the weather will turn colder, I am not seeing any major storms on the horizon at this time for Montreal.