Thursday, January 17, 2013

Windy & Cold for Montreal

A strong arctic boundary has slipped south and east of Montreal this morning, opening the fridge door to some pretty cold air. The temperature at 2am was plus 2C (34F). It has since fallen to -6C (21F) with a nasty northwest wind in the 30 to 40km/h range creating windchill readings in the minus teens. This sort of trend will continue today with dropping temperatures and gusty winds. The front had a few strong snow showers and squalls with it bringing about 2cm of snow to L'Ile Perrot. The snow is now along the US border and slipping into New York and Vermont.

In the wake of the front we can expect partly cloudy skies today with a few passing flurries and some blowing snow across open areas. Winds will range from 40-60km/h and slowly diminish this afternoon. Our high has been reached already and we should settle into the -15C range by mid-afternoon. Tonight will be clear and very cold with lows in most areas in the -22 to -25C range. Friday will see an increase in clouds and milder air as a few clipper systems begin to affect our region. Both Saturday and Sunday look snowy at this time with perhaps enough to shovel. It will be milder both days, close to -2C but turn much colder again late Sunday as another arctic front crosses southern Quebec. Next week for the moment looks very cold.

Of note, just how strong was that cold front? Yesterday Timmins in northeast Ontario went from a high -2C to -23C in a matter of hours with the frontal passage. They are currently -32C.

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