Slow start to Spring in Montreal

Despite the calender saying spring, more snow fell in Montreal on Monday morning. It just won't warm up this year, leaving us still with piles of dirty snow and ice. (ValleyWX)

 If you think it has been a rather sluggish start to the spring season this year in Montreal, you would be right. Through March 29th, the overall average temperature at Trudeau Airport has been -5.1C (22F), the normal should be -2C (29F). The average daily high has been -0.2C (31F) compared to the normal of 2.5C (37F). Our average overnight low has been -10.1C (14F), very cold as compared to the normal low of -6.5C (20F). We have had 15 daily highs remain below the freezing point and 12 overnight lows dropped below -10C (14F) including several days below -20C (-4C). The one high note has been the lack of any major snowstorms, a trend that was established early on in 2015. As I'm writing, Montreal has had close to 30cm of snow for the month, below the normal of 36.2cm. Officially as of this past Sunday there is no snow left on the ground at Trudeau Airport, normally there should be 3-8cm. But unofficially most neighborhoods, especially off island, still have piles of dirty snow around.

So what does the immediate future hold? With the exception of this coming Friday, when we could see a high of plus 10C (50F), it looks like temperatures will remain at or below normal. We have some cold nights ahead of us including tonight when the low should be -7C (19F) with gusty northwest winds to 50km/h. Another round of snow or flurries occurred this morning, and we can expect another chance for snow by Saturday. In between, high pressure will build into southern Quebec for a couple of sunny days Tuesday and Wednesday. Temperatures will try to warm up but remain colder that we want for early April heading into Easter weekend.