Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Slippery morning commute

Either the snowplow operators are tired or the winter budget ran out overnight. Montreal streets are snow covered this morning with very little in the way of plowing or salting. It took me about 20 minutes just to get out of my own neighbourhood this morning. We certainly received the low end of the forecast expectations with about 5cm overnight. Add that to the 4cm yesterday and the close to 20cm on Sunday, and the piles are getting rather high.

This mornings messy commute is being complicated by dropping temperatures in the region and an increasing northwest wind. The temperature has lowered from 0C just after midnight to -7C at 8am. It is already -15C in both Toronto and Ottawa. Roads have turned to ice with a layer of snow on top. The snow will taper off this morning with another 2 or perhaps 3cm expected. Skies will be partly cloudy for the balance of the day and tonight with steady temperatures. On Wednesday an arctic front will move across the valley with increasing southwest winds backing to the northwest between 30-60 km/h causing blowing and drifting snow in open areas. A few snow squalls may develop along the front with a couple of quick centimetres possible. Keep this in mind if travelling across the region. The same forecast holds true for eastern Ontario. Northern New England had between 3-6 inches of snow overnight.

The balance of the week looks cooler and unsettled with flurries, but no big storms in sight at this time. Another storm is affecting north Texas and Dallas today. We will have to keep a close on eye on where this one heads next.

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