Long stretch of near-perfect late summer weather forecast for Montreal

An early taste of fall colours on Ile Perrot this past weekend. However, don't be fooled by the cold weather as summer is set to make a return, with abundant sunshine and above normal temperatures forecast into the upcoming weekend.

After the wettest meteorological summer on record for the city and an early taste of fall, we are in store for an extended period of sunny, warm weather.

Strong high pressure anchored over southern Ontario, will remain in place well into the weekend. This will provide the Montreal region with clear, cool nights and sunny, seasonable warm days. As the week moves along and into the upcoming weekend, a southwest flow will develop, allowing for temperatures to rise above normal. High temperatures will be close to normal values of 20C (68F) and 10C (50F) for Wednesday, but rise into the middle 20s beyond and perhaps upper 20s by the weekend. No precipitation is in sight.

Strong high pressure over southern Ontario will keep the remains of hurricane Francine well to our south, saving the region from heavy rainfall. (NHC)

Tropical Storm Francine

On Tuesday afternoon, tropical storm soon to be hurricane Francine was located 610km southwest of Morgan City, Louisiana, heading northeast at 14km/h. Francine has 100km/h winds and was expected to strengthen into a hurricane late Tuesday. The storm is forecast to make landfall along the central Louisiana coast on Wednesday afternoon. Hurricane warnings are in place, with conditions expected to deteriorate quickly along the food-prone Gulf Coast. A storm surge of up to 3 metres is possible, along with 100-300mm of rain.

Once inland, Francine is expected to weaken while moving north into the Mississippi Valley. The good news for Montreal and southwestern Quebec, is that the aforementioned high pressure will deflect Francine well south of our area, where the storm will weaken and fill over time.

Wet Summer

As mentioned, Montreal just experienced the wettest summer on record. From June 1st to August 31st, 492.9mm (19.4 inches) of rain fell on the city, smashing the long-standing record of 431.1mm set in 1893. Despite the persistent clouds, rain, thunderstorms and very humid conditions, we still managed 18 days with the temperature at 30C (86F) or higher at Trudeau Airport from June to August.

Montreal did manage some very fall-like weather over the weekend. On Saturday, a strong cold front produced up to 20mm of rainfall across the region, accompanied by gusty winds and dropping temperatures. The overnight low on Sunday morning was a chilly 7.1C (45F), only rising to 13.4C (55F) on Sunday. The was the coldest high temperature for the date, surpassing the previous low maximum of 13.9C (56F) set in 1938.  Despite the early taste of fall weather, the long range forecast is calling for above normal temperatures for tour region into October.