Quiet weather to end the year in Montreal

Just a dusting of snow was all we could manage across most of southern Quebec this holiday season, as record warmth stretched from coast to coast. You had a better chance of golfing on Christmas Day than skiing. The image above was taken on December 22 on Ile Perrot. The snow melted quickly as temperatures rose above freezing Christmas Eve and remained there through December 29th. (Valley Weather Photo)

Happy New Year and thank you for reading. Valley Weather is set to enter year number 45, starting in 1979. This year will end rather quietly on the weather front across southern Quebec. Cloudy skies prevail this New Years Eve as a clipper system skirts to our southwest, with much colder temperatures than we have been accustomed to. 

The current temperature as I write is -5C (23F) in Montreal, with a hint of snow in the air. The forecast calls for cloudy skies, a few flurries and a chilly overnight low of -9C (16F). The New Year will start with perhaps a few sunny breaks, and a high of -6C (21F). Looking ahead, the week will be quiet, with above freezing temperatures expected once again by Tuesday. By next weekend, colder air will return, with a chance of some snow as a storm system moves along the east coast. There are still many details to work out, so stay tuned.

Thank you El Nino! An Environment Canada map showing temperature anomalies for this December. The entire country was above normal, with numerous locations recording their warmest December on record.  

December has been warm. Numerous locations across Canada have either had their warmest or second warmest month on record. Snow cover is sparse across the country, largely confined to northern areas. Here in Montreal, the average temperature to date is 1.9C (35.4F), well-above the normal of -5.4C (22.3F). As far as precipitation is concerned, we measured 41.4cm of snowfall, most of that falling over a two day period at the start of the month. Rainfall sits at an impressive 102.2mm, just shy of the all time record for the month. On average by December 31st, Montreal has 10cm of snow on the ground, with Quebec City at 34cm. Both are reporting zero snow cover today.

If you thought 2023 was warm in Montreal, you would be correct. The average temperature for the year sits at 8.7C (47.6F), the warmest recorded at Trudeau Airport, dating back to 1942. We beat the record set recently in 2021, of 8.65C (47.5F).

The weather was wild this past year coast to coast, from widespread forest fires and dense smoke, to our April ice storm and a sprinkling of severe weather in between. A total of 86 tornadoes were observed, 10 reported here in Quebec. We managed a record wet July here in southern Quebec, and the warmest summer experienced by Canadians, from sea to sea to sea.