Foggy, damp December 31st in Montreal and southern Quebec

It is a very foggy, damp morning on Ile Perrot this December 31st, with the temperature well above freezing at 6C. A fog advisory is in effect for Montreal, with visibility under 1km in many locations. (Valley Weather Photo)

Happy New Year!

Widespread fog advisories are in effect for a large portion of southern Quebec and Ontario, including metro Montreal Saturday morning. Visibility in many instances is well under 1km, down to just a few metres at times. Drive with great care if you have any travel plans today. Saturday will be very mild as we say goodbye to 2022. Temperatures overnight remained well above freezing, currently at a record setting maximum low of 5.9C (42F) here on Ile Perrot. The normal low is -14C (14F). The daily high will fall short of the record today, which is 12.2C set in 1965.

Friday was warm and wet, not your typical late December day in Montreal. Dozens of record highs were set across southern Quebec, Ontario and New England. In Montreal a 133 year old temperature record from McGill University fell as the mercury soared to 8.6C (48F) surpassing the 1889 record of 7.8C (46F). The overnight low tied the record from 1884 at 3.9C (39F). Ottawa also set a new record high at 9.8C (49F) beating the old daily high of 6C (43F) set in 1990. Warm air moved all the way north into the lower Laurentians, with Mont Tremblant reaching 7.4C on Friday, with 27mm of rain. Not very good for the ski hills!

The warm weather will persist Saturday as we reach 8C (47F) before the rain sets in along a cold front late today. The slow moving front will cross the St. Lawrence Valley this evening, ushering in slightly colder air for New Years Day. Temperatures will fall slowly today towards the freezing point on Sunday. Rainfall will amount to 10-15mm across the region today into tonight. The snowpack has dwindled down to just a few centimetres in Montreal.

The slightly cooler air Sunday will be short-lived, as another surge of very warm air and rain arrives by Tuesday. On the backside of the next system, much colder, more normal temperatures for January will arrive. It will not be frigid, but it should be cold enough for the rain to change to snow Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

Drive safe and enjoy your New Years Eve.