Winter storm update for Montreal

The snow is accumulating quickly on Ile Perrot early Friday morning. Snowfall warnings remain in effect for Montreal, with 10-20cm expected for the city through Saturday afternoon, and up to 30cm southwest of Montreal towards the US border. (Valley Weather Photo)

Snowfall warnings remain in effect along the St. Lawrence Valley in Ontario and Quebec as well as portions of New York and New England. Strengthening low pressure early Friday morning is lifting across southern New Jersey moving northeast towards Cape Cod. Moisture will stream into southern Quebec over the next 24 hours.

Snow is slowly moving into the Montreal region from southwest to northeast Friday morning. The snow should be light most of the day, with pockets of moderate snow, especially southwest of the city. Temperatures remain rather mild, just marginally cold enough for snow. Here on Ile Perrot, the temperature dropped from 2C (36F) to 0C (32F) once the snow started around 6am.

Road conditions will be highly variable across the region, depending on elevation. Expect snow covered, icy roads and reduced visibility in the heaviest snow bands. Exercise caution today, or postpone your trip if possible. Winds are rather gusty across the region, in the 30 to 50km/h range and will remain that way throughout the day.

In terms of accumulations, storm totals through Saturday will be in the 10-20cm range for the Island of Montreal, with 20-30cm south of the St. Lawrence River towards the US border. North of Montreal across the lower Laurentians and in the Quebec City region, 10-20cm is possible. Flurries will persist into Sunday. Temperatures will remain mild throughout the weekend, around the freezing point for highs and just below for lows. Colder air arrives next week, with more snow possible in the days leading up to Christmas.