Snowstorm to impact Montreal and southern Quebec

The first major winter storm of the season will spread heavy wet snow across southern Quebec on Friday. Up to 20cm is possible for metro Montreal. Travel will be difficult, and power outages are possible due to the weight of the snow.

Snowfall warning in effect for metro Montreal.

Numerous weather warnings have been issued across southern Ontario and Quebec, New York and New England for heavy wet snow and strong winds. Low pressure over the central United States has been producing widespread heavy snow and severe weather from the west coast to the deep south and everywhere in between. The large, complex storm system is moving into the Great Lakes on Thursday, with a second storm forecast to develop near North Carolina. The second storm will become the major weather maker for our region.

Thursday will be the calm before the storm, with increasing clouds and mild temperatures. Highs will be near 4C (39F). Overnight temperatures will be mild as well, near 0C (32F). Friday will be just cold enough for snow, remaining near the freezing point. 

A warm front will lift across the region early in the morning, followed by deep moisture moving north along the Atlantic coast with the secondary storm. That storm will lift northeast into New Brunswick. The snow should move into Montreal by 7am Friday morning and become heavy at times through the noon hour. Lighter snow will persist into Saturday morning. The heaviest accumulations will be over the higher elevations of southern Quebec, where totals could surpass 30cm. Along the St. Lawrence Valley, up to 20cm is possible, accompanied by gusty northeast winds up to 50km/h. Visibility will be greatly reduced and road conditions will deteriorate quickly on Friday. The weight of the snow may cause isolated power outages.

Conditions should improve Saturday, but flurries will persist into Sunday. The week leading up to Christmas Day will be much colder in Montreal, with addiotnal chances for snowfall. Details to follow once we get through the current storm. Drive safely and work from home if you can Friday.

The current storm heading towards Montreal, has been producing blizzard conditions from western Canada into the Great Lakes. The same storm also generated severe thunderstorms, with dozens of tornadoes reported across the deep southern US and Gulf Coast. The damage above was from a strong tornado that swept across metro New Orleans late Wednesday afternoon. Sadly 3 fatalities have been reported so far from the storms. (New Orleans Fire Department)