Montreal settles into wintry weather pattern

A snowy Friday morning in Montreal after a fresh 11cm fell overnight. Snow and blowing snow will persist for the morning hours before tapering to flurries early this afternoon. (Valley Weather Photo)

As expected our current winter storm has delivered 10 to 15cm of fresh snow to southern Quebec overnight, and it is still snowing and blowing early Friday morning. As of 7am, 11cm had fallen at Trudeau Airport, with another area of snow arriving in the city over the last hour. Expect close to 5cm of additional snowfall today, before the storm system moves off to the east. Some freezing drizzle has been reported around Massena and Cornwall. Gusty northeast winds are occurring as well, in the 30 to 50km/h range here in the St. Lawrence Valley, producing areas of blowing snow and reduced visibility.

Roads are snow covered and slippery for your morning commute, so slow and steady will win the race today. The snow will taper to flurries this afternoon, along with steady temperatures around -1C (30F). Look for cloudy skies overnight and Saturday, with perhaps a few breaks of sunshine. Lows overnight will drop to around -7C (19F), with a high of -3C (27F) Saturday and again on Sunday.

By Sunday, another area of low pressure will be developing across the southern and central portions of the US, moving east/northeast along the eastern seaboard. This storm will deliver another round of snow to New England and edging into southern Quebec. Montreal should remain on the far western side of this storm, with perhaps another 5-10cm late Sunday into Monday. There are still details to work out on this storm. By Tuesday and Wednesday, yet another storm is expected in our region, this one producing mixed precipitation. Again their remains lots of uncertainty in the forecast models so we need a little more time to fine-tune the details. One thing is certain, we are in a very progressive weather pattern currently, with frequent, fast-moving storm systems forecast every couple of days over the next few weeks.

Drive safe today. Enjoy your weekend.