Frigid cold weekend for Montreal with more snow

The icy St. Lawrence River as frigid air moves into southern Quebec. The weather will remain very cold well into next week, with the potential for significant snowfall late Sunday into Monday for Montreal.

Extreme Cold Warnings are up for a large portion of Canada and the Northern US, including here in Quebec, but excluding metro Montreal at this time. Bundle up this weekend, protect your hands and face, wear layers and make certain your pets are safe. The extreme cold is especially hard on the the very young and seniors. This is January in Montreal, we have this.

The North American weather map it lit up from coast to coast to coast with weather warnings. Most are related to intense cold and snow squalls in Canada, with heavy snow and freezing rain across the US from New England to Texas.

For Montreal the coldest air of the season will move into southern Ontario and Quebec Friday behind an arctic boundary. That front may trigger more flurries and squalls on Friday afternoon. The boundary will also introduce frigid air to the St. Lawrence Valley. How cold? On Friday morning, North Bay, Ontario is already down to -20C (-4F), with Thunder Bay at -32C (-25F). 

Further west, extreme cold warnings are in effect across Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Every reporting station in Saskatchewan is colder than -30C Friday morning, including -43.3C (-46F) at Uranium City. Windchills are as cold as -50C(-59F).

It will not get that cold in Montreal, but we are looking at falling temperatures and increasing winds for Friday. Our high has been reached for Friday, around -9C (16F), with temperatures falling throughout the day down to morning lows Saturday of -24C (-11F) in the city. Lows wil approach -30C in many off island locations. Gusty west winds of 20-50km/h will result in -30C to -40C windchills values.

SUNDAY SNOWSTORM UPDATE

Winds will ease on Saturday, but the weather will remain very cold, with a high of -19C (-2F). On Sunday, computer guidance continues to shift the US winter storm northward along the Eastern Seaboard, with winter storm watches now up right to the Canadian border. 

What that means for Montreal is snow starting Sunday afternoon and persisting into the Monday morning commute, along with gusty northeast winds, blowing snow and very cold temperatures. Temperatures with the snow will be around -13C (9F). It is still a little early too speculate and storm totals as the system is still evolving, but we are looking at the possibility of more than 10cm here in the city, with much more south and east. Stay tuned!