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| Totality as viewed during the solar eclipse from Valois Bay in Dorval at 3:27PM Monday, April 8. (Valley Weather Photo) |
After the brilliant warm sunshine of Monday and Tuesday, we have a rather stormy pattern on the way to end the work week. Low pressure will move north into the Great Lakes Wednesday, pushing a mild and humid airmass into southern Quebec. Showers and isolated thunderstorms will develop overnight along a warm front lifting into Montreal, gradually tapering off Wednesday. Another surge of moisture arrives Thursday into the early part of the weekend, with some moderate rain expected for the city.
In all 20-40mm of rain is quite possible between tonight and Saturday morning. Depending on the breaks in the cloud cover we receive on Wednesday, temperatures may be quite warm. Highs are expected in the 16-20C (60-68F) range across the region Tuesday and Wednesday, before cooling sightly to 12-14C (52F-54F), with the rain Thursday and Friday.
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| The eclipse underway over the St. Lawrence River in Dorval on Monday afternoon, accompanied by a spectacular halo. Halos around the sun occur when ice crystals are present in high altitude cirrus clouds. (Valley Weather Photo) |
Final thoughts on the Great Eclipse
A few final thoughts on Monday’s full solar eclipse in Montreal. I was left breathless, it was emotionally spectacular to say the very least. The pictures I attempted to take with my iPhone, failed to capture what I was seeing. Others were more successful with their photos, it is certainly not where my strengths lie that is for sure. The event was like one big party in Montreal and all along the path of totality stretching from Mexico to Atlantic Canada.
I went down to Valois Bay along the Lakeshore in Dorval Monday afternoon to get away from the concrete jungle where our office is located. The spot was filled with families and people of all ages, languages and cultures, collectively enjoying the celestial magnitude of the day.
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| Just as amazing as the eclipse was the blue and orange hues created during totality. This picture does not do any justice to Mother Natures handy work, the sky was absolutely spectacular. (Valley Weather Photo) |
I was moved not only by the eclipse itself but by the conditions, patterns and hues the eclipse created in the lower atmosphere, i.e. the weather. The decline in solar radiation over the duration of the eclipse was notable, causing the temperature to fall from 17C (63F) before the eclipse began at 2:14PM in Montreal, to 14C (56F) by the time of totality. It would later rise back to the daytime high of 18C (65F) at 5pm.
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| An incredible photo showing the total eclipse in all it's splendor as seen from Knowlton, Quebec. At 3 minutes and 30 seconds, totality in Knowlton was more than double that of Montreal. Knowlton was located closer to the center of the 200 kilometre wide path of totality. (Ben Brousseau) |
Clouds were the main concern on Eclipse Monday. A warm front was lifting slowly across eastern Ontario into extreme southwestern Quebec. In the end, those advancing high altitude cirrus clouds produced some absolutely spectacular halos around the eclipsing sun. The halo was caused by the suns reflection off ice crystals in the clouds. While the clouds did add a veil to the eclipse, they did not lessen it in any way from my vantage point at least.
I have been watching the skies since I was a child, interested in weather since shortly after I could walk, I must say I have never experienced a more amazing event in my lifetime. It lived up to the hype, and I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to view it. My only complaint was that one minute and thirty seconds of totality in Montreal, was just a little too short, I needed more!
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