Much colder weather to start March - but it won't last long

Another 10 to 15cm of snow fell across the Montreal region this past Wednesday. With the cold temperatures experienced this winter, most of the snow remains piled high across suburban neighbourhoods. Much warmer weather is on the way once we move past the next 48 hours, which should help begin to melt away the snow and ice.

February is ending on a spring-like note, as temperatures have soared to 9.2C (49F) here on Ile Perrot and just slightly cooler at Trudeau Airport. While today is the warmest day of the year so far, it is well short of the 2024 record high for the date of 13.8C (56F).

The weather has been windy and warm, with just some scattered light showers along a cold front that crossed the region Saturday morning. Frigid air is set to filter southeast across Ontario and southern Quebec over the next few hours, with temperatures falling to morning lows Sunday of  -10C (14F).

Gusty winds of 40-60km/h Saturday afternoon, will slowly dimmish overnight, with light winds expected Sunday. Some flurries are possible both Saturday night and Sunday. Monday morning will be very cold, with lows around -20C (-4F) expected in Montreal.

Conditions will begin to warm quickly as we start March, with some snow possible Tuesday into Wednesday as low pressure moves south of Montreal. Beyond that into the second week of March, we are expecting well-above normal temperatures, with highs in the upper single digits above freezing. Overnight lows will remain milder than normal as well. Good news for those if would like to see the piles of snow and ice begin to melt away.

Taking a brief look back at February, it was a cold month, but with limited precipitation. The coldest low at Trudeau Airport was -21.5C (-6.7F) on the 8th. The temperature remained below freezing on 22 of the 28 days. In terms of precipitation, we measured 31.4cm of snow and 0.2mm of rain, both below normal for the month, with the main storm track passing either south and west of Montreal, or along the Atlantic Coast. The normal snowfall for February is typical closer to 47cm for Montreal.