Weekend Update

Winds gusting as high as that of a category 2 hurricane caused widespread damage and power outages across Atlantic Canada yesterday.

This truck did not fare too well near Sydney, Nova Scotia. Image from CBC News

We are sitting at the freezing point again in Montreal this morning as our "ho hum" weather continues. It is now December 9 and all we have is a trace of snowfall to show for the month and 9cm for the season. Most days have been within a degree or two of 0C for highs and lows, and we have had lots of cloud cover. Temperatures will continue to be above normal this weekend as that cold air mass from out west has moderated as it crossed the Great Lakes. We are looking at a cloudy day with periods of flurries or showers. The weekend looks mild and partly cloudy with high temperatures of 1 or 2C and lows between -6C and -2C.

The precipitation today is being generated by a cold front moving across the Great Lakes. That front will produce gusty southwest winds off of the lakes that may produce a period of steady lake effect snow along Highway 401 from Kingston to Brockville and extending north into Leeds and Grenville County and perhaps even Kemptville. A couple of quick centimetres is possible with low visibility in any of the squalls. Last night a feeder band of lake snow stretched all the way from Georgian Bay to Ottawa. If they hold together today we may see a few heavier flurries in southern Quebec, but the likelihood is low.

That Atlantic Nor'Easter that raced up the east coast yesterday produced heavy rain and snow across the Maratimes. The storm also brought with it fierce winds that gusted as high as 159km/h at Englee, Newfoundland. There were numerous reports of damage and power outages with many communities reporting gusts in excess of 100km/h. The same was true across Nova Scotia and New Brunswick where strong winds cut power to thousands and made travel dangerous. The Confederation Bridge to PEI was closed after winds exceeded 100km/h and gusted as high as 136km/h. It has since reopened.