A look back at April & ahead to May for Montreal

A large upper level low continues to produce clouds and cool weather for most of Quebec and Atlantic Canada. The dividing line seems to be Montreal. The hope is that the system gets dislodged into the north Atlantic this weekend.

April is in the record books from a weather standpoint. It was not that great a month with plenty of cloud cover and a persistent northeast flow of damp, chilly air. Two weeks worth of an upper level low pressure area did not help the numbers at all. That system continues to produce clouds and cool weather across Atlantic Canada today with the clouds drifting southwest into southern Quebec. The satellite image above displays this well with heavy clouds north and east of Montreal and partial sunshine in Ontario and northern New York. While Montreal managed 16C (61F) on Thursday it was only 5C (41F) in Halifax and 2C (36F) in Charlottetown.

APRIL IN MONTREAL
The average April temperature at Trudeau Airport through April 30 was at 6.3C (43F), just a notch below the normal of 6.4C (43.5). The average high was 11.2C (52F), the normal is 11.6C (53F). The average low was 1.3C (34F) very close to the normal of 1.2C. The lack of sunshine and persistent gusty winds made the month feel much colder. The extreme temperatures were -6.7C (20F) and 22C (72F). As I write this blog, most of the trees and shrubs are still struggling to bud from the lack of sunshine and real warmth. From a precipitation standpoint, rainfall was slightly above normal at 70.4mm, (normal 67.7mm), and snowfall slightly below normal at 8.2cm, (the normal is 12.9cm). The peak wind gust was 76km/h.

A warmer westerly flow should develop this weekend in southern Quebec along with more sunshine. Temperatures are forecast to reach the upper teens Saturday and low 20's Sunday. By early next week Montreal may see temperatures approach 24C (75F). The start of May is looking decent so far with warmer temperatures the rule rather than the exception. Some computer models are hinting at a potential coastal system developing next week and affecting New England, perhaps spilling into eastern Canada, but that is still several days out, stay tuned. For now enjoy the partial sunshine and warmth this weekend.