Another arctic outbreak forecast for Montreal

Above and below are a smattering of pictures showing the impact of heavy snow in Boston and southern New England. They have resorted to snow melters in Boston, in an effort to get rid of the mounds of snow. Most of the storms have just missed Montreal leaving our seasonal snow total at 125cm (50 inches). (AP Photos)

Weather has always been big in my world, going back to my childhood years in the early 70's. It seems weather has become a big topic lately as the mainstream media, especially in the U.S. comes on board with the recent spat of storms. We had a friendly debate yesterday at work over climate change and global warming. Whether or not you believe in such theories, it is a topic that usually conjures up a lengthy and exhausting debate. Bottom line, what you see out the window now is related more to the current short term weather pattern and not long term climate change. I am just saying, don't discount climate change because it is cold out today.

This pattern by the way, shows no signs of changing in the near future. L'Ile Perrot is clear this morning at -17C (2F), another cold morning, well below the normal low of  -13C (9F). The high today is forecast to be only -13C (9F), the normal high is -4C (25F) for Montreal. Clouds will increase this evening as another clipper type low pressure system, following the same track as the last few, moves south of Montreal across New England. Snow will develop in Ottawa this evening and Montreal after midnight with 5-10cm forecast through Thursday. Temperatures will moderate slightly in the snow but then plummet Thursday night and remain frigid into this weekend. Lows overnight both Saturday and Sunday will be near -24C (-11F) in Montreal and even colder in rural areas away form the city. Strong winds will make the windchill bitter. After the snow Thursday, no major storms are forecast for Montreal at this time.

RECORD BREAKING SNOW FOR BOSTON
The big weather news this week has been the relentless parade of storms across New England. More heavy snow this week in Boston and southern coastal New Hampshire, has pushed the three week total to over 70 inches (175cm). It also has placed this winter`s snow depth at number nine all time in Boston, and climbing up quickly. More heavy snow is forecast this weekend with the potential of two separate storms impacting the region. Snow is piled up to the roof tops in some places. The National Guard has been called in to help with snow clearing operations. Some roofs have even collapsed under the weight of the heavy snow. It has snowed in Boston on 13 of the last 17 days.

Snow blocks the entrance to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire. I love this place, having visited most recently this past summer. I would love to visit this week! (Facebook)

Bitterly cold & snowy for Montreal

NWS Burlington snow forecast including the St. Lawrence Valley. Around 6 inches (15cm) is forecast along the border, with less as you move northwest towards Montreal, 4 inches (5-10cm). Double click map for more detail.

The snowy, cold weather pattern will prevail across eastern Canada with a couple of more waves of low pressure affecting the region this week. A frontal boundary draped across the Great Lakes this morning is the dividing line between the arctic air over Montreal and warmer air to the south. This boundary will be the focus of snowfall today as low pressure rides along it through Monday. Snow and blowing snow is forecast for eastern Ontario, along the 401 and into Montreal today and Monday. It will be light most of the time with 5-10cm from Montreal north and 10-15cm south to the U.S. border and along the 401 corridor. South of the border, winter storm warnings are in place for upstate New York and Vermont for up to 30cm of snow or 1 foot by the time it ends late Monday or early Tuesday. Gusty northeast winds up to 50km/h in the St. Lawrence Valley will blow the snow around and make it feel bitterly cold. This morning it is -18C (0F) in Montreal with a northeast wind at 37km/h and a windchill of -31C (-24F). The cold will last all week with the potential for the coldest night of the winter by Friday or Saturday. More snow is forecast on Wednesday as another clipper crosses the valley. While it seems like we may have had lots of snow this month, it has come in small amounts and has added up to 15-20cm (6-8 inches) for southern Quebec. Let's compare that to Moncton, New Brunswick and other parts of the Maritimes that have had over 150cm (60") in the last 10 days alone with two more storms forecast for this week.

Strong winds blast Quebec & Ontario after record warmth

Winds gusting to over 100km/h in Montreal tore this roof off a building Monday evening. (Photo Meteomedia Twitter)

There is so much to talk about this morning in the weather department as the seasons clash. Deep 978mb low pressure over the northern Great Lakes is the dividing line between early fall and winter weather. Montreal was on the warm side of the storm on Monday as strong southerly winds helped push temperatures to nearly 20C. New record highs were established at Trudeau Airport, 17.8C beating the old record of 17.5 set in 1999. Records were also set at Sainte-Anne and L'Ile Perrot at 20C, St Anicet and Cornwall, Ontario at 21.3C (70F), Ottawa 19.4C and Toronto 18.3C.

Winds in excess of 90km/h across eastern Ontario caused plenty of damage to signs, roof shingles and trees. This one was toppled west of Kemptville, Ontario. Power was also out to over 70,000 customers. (Photo: J.Kinnear)

A strong cold front swept across the city of Montreal around 7pm last evening with powerful winds, thunder and lightning. The strongest wind gust of the year was observed at Trudeau Airport around 6:50pm at 107km/h (67mph). Wind gusts all night have been frequently over 80km/h in Montreal. The wind knocked out power to over 45,000 customers in Quebec. That number is down this morning as Hydro Quebec crews work to repair the damage. A roof was even ripped from a home on Beaudry near St. Catherine Street. No injuries were reported. Heavy rain fell along the front as well as yesterday morning with 16mm reported at the airport and on L'Ile Perrot.

East Coast Snowstorm
Temperatures are down this morning and will stay there all day. After the summer like warmth on Monday, we will be lucky to surpass 5C (41F) today in Montreal. The other story this morning is the potential east coast snowstorm. That front that brought us the wind will stall along the east coast and allow low pressure to develop off the North Carolina coast and move northeast. The storm will pass near Cape Cod on Wednesday night. Snow is forecast to fall across a wide swath of New England, Atlantic Canada and the northeast US. This comes during the busiest travel time of the year stateside, the Thanksgiving holiday. The potential storm has prompted a wide range of watches and warnings for 15-30cm (6-12inches) of snow. At this time is looks like the snow will just brush the border regions of southern Quebec.

Warm & muggy Tuesday followed by thunderstorms

Several times this summer it looked like Montreal was in line for strong to severe thunderstorms, but fortunately they have not materialized, at least in the city proper. Just this month alone there have been at least three days, including Monday, where the parameters and ingredients were right for thunderstorms. But like the previous two days, none developed on Monday in Montreal. The main area of thunderstorms once again moved across portions of Ontario and into central New York and southern Vermont. We did however have showers for a big portion of the day with a light rainfall of 5-10mm in most metro locations, just enough to water the lawn. There were some reports of 20-30mm closer to the US border and just across it in Vermont.

The warm front the caused the showers Monday is now well east of the region with Montreal in the warm sector. Temperatures are already in the middle 20's, look for warm, muggy highs of 29C (85F) today. A rather vigorous cold front will cross the region late this evening with showers and thunderstorms possible in Ontario, Quebec and New York from the supper hour to around midnight. Lows tonight will be around 20C (68F) with highs on Wednesday at 25C (77F). Some showers may linger into Wednesday but there will also be a few glimpses of sun.Thursday into the early portion of the weekend looks good with plenty of sunshine and seasonably warm. It will become more humid with thunderstorms by Sunday.

A photo of just some of the damage on the farm of Ray Derdall near Outlook, Saskatchewan. He also had major damage done to his home. (Star Phoenix)

SASKATCHEWAN TORNADOES
Environment Canada was out investigating the weekend tornadoes across Saskatchewan. Six tornadoes were reported between 2:30 and 4pm Saturday afternoon. The strongest occurred near Outlook, and was an estimated EF2 capable of winds between 178-217km/h. Major damage was reported on one farm near Outlook.


Meanwhile the cleanup continues in the Maritimes from Tropical Storm Arthur. There are still 65,000 homes and businesses without power in New Brunswick alone. It will take until the weekend to restore all customers.

In southern Manitoba major flooding continues along the Assiniboine River. Sandbagging efforts are well underway to try to alleviate some of the expected flooding in Brandon.