Wet and chilly weekend expected for Montreal

Our mild September and early October has resulted in a sluggish foliage season across the Montreal region. That began to change drastically over the past week, with many parts of the city now seeing decent colour. There is still plenty of leaves left to fall, but the windy, wet and cooler weather forecast this weekend will likely accelerate that process. (Valley Weather Photo)

Strengthening low pressure along the US east coast this weekend will result in rainfall across much of southern Quebec into New England. Before then, we can expect a mild, partly cloudy Friday, with temperatures pushing into the upper teens. 

This past week has been rather grey and somewhat cooler that we had been accustomed to for most of September into the first week of October. Daytime highs have been closer to normal of late, in the lower teens, but overnight lows remain very mild, as a result most of the region has yet to see any frost.

After a few breaks of sun late Thursday and perhaps a few more Friday morning, cloud cover will thicken once again as the next weather system moves in. A deep trough will develop over the Great Lakes, with the first Nor'Easter of the season developing off the North Carolina coast moving northeast towards Atlantic Canada by Saturday. At the same time a cold front will be approaching from the west. The combination of the two systems will bring a steady rain to Montreal, starting late Friday and persisting into Saturday evening. Amounts will likely exceed 25mm (1 inch) in Montreal and may approach 50mm (2 inches), especially south and east of the city.

Temperatures will be mild Thursday night, with southwesterly winds blowing, dropping to 13C (55F). The normal low is 2C (36F). Friday and most of Saturday will be mild, in the mid to upper teens, before the aforementioned cold front crosses the region late Saturday. Temperatures will drop back to seasonal values for Sunday at 11C (52F),  Look for some of the coldest nights this fall so far Monday and Tuesday, with forecast lows close to 1C (34F). Some areas may see the first frost of the fall season.

Finally, southwesterly winds will become rather gusty on Friday, before backing to the northwest over the weekend, bringing in the cooler air.