Strong winds in Montreal - little snow from big nor'easter

A classic, spectacular image of the east coast storm from space. Clouds as far back as Montreal with a cold front trailing into the Caribbean Sea and dry air in the middle working its way into Nova Scotia.

After a media frenzy in New York City on Monday, and the eventual shutdown of that cities subway system for the first time in its history, it appears the storm will spare NYC. Airlines cancelled thousands of flights today in and out of the Big Apple in preparation for the onslaught forecast. The problem is, snowstorms are very difficult to pin down, especially coastal systems. Determining where the heaviest snow will set up is always a challenge. This storm did develop as expected and it is very strong this morning, located southeast of the Massachusetts coastline. But the heaviest snow spared New York City and is pounding eastern Long Island, as well as southern New England including Boston.

No cars and no snow for the Big Apple this morning. (Sun Sentinel)

This classic northeaster that looks like a storm out of a textbook is dealing a heavy blow to coastal communities in Massachusetts. Overnight 20 foot seas pounded the region with flooding reported in places like Plymouth and Scituate. Winds gusting to near hurricane force of 75mph hit Nantucket Island as well as coastal areas into Maine into Nova Scotia. Around 11 inches of snow has been reported in Boston and it is still snowing heavily in that city. Inland in southern New Hampshire, Connecticut and Massachusetts as much as 16 inches has been reported with two feet still forecast. Further north in Atlantic Canada, blizzard warnings are in effect with the region virtually shut down today. All flights have been cancelled and schools are closed with 30cm of wind driven snow expected.

In Quebec, any snow expected is sill limited to the border regions as well as the Gaspe where warnings are posted. Only 1cm or 2 is forecast for Montreal. Strong winds will funnel down the St. Lawrence Valley with gusts to 90km/h forecast in Quebec City, and already approaching 60km/h in Montreal. It is very cold in Montreal this morning with windchill readings around -26C. (-15F). The high will only be -11C, windy, cold and flurries.