Snow or rain? Storm this week for Montreal

Models agree on a storm but not on the precipitation type. A snow to rain event in Montreal is likely.

It is looking more and more likely that a major east coast storm will affect Montreal and eastern Ontario this week. Computer models are depicting a strong low pressure area developing off the North Carolina coast and moving northeast towards New York City. After that the storm either moves inland or just off the coast. Either way a large amount of precipitation, up to 25mm, and very strong winds are likely for Montreal and southern Quebec as well as eastern Ontario.

The problem currently lies in where the snow/rain line will fall. The GFS model has rain on the South Shore of Montreal with snow across the Ottawa River and points north like Laval and Hudson. One thing is certain we will have quite a bit of precipitation and wind starting late Tuesday and into Wednesday night. Travel for a large portion of our area will become difficult Wednesday morning. This includes of course New York and Vermont where Thanksgiving travel will be underway. Already this week snow squalls produced major accidents in Vermont with a fatality and multiple injures. Plan ahead for winter driving.

I will post another update early Monday morning and also on my Twitter feed.