Cold & wind return to southern Quebec - Ontario - NY

Interstate 94 in Michigan City, Indiana is littered with cars after the blizzard this weekend. (The Weather Channel)

What a difference 24 hours can make, it was 6C (43F) yesterday morning here on L'Ile Perrot, this morning I am showing -17C (2F) currently with the windchill fluctuating between -25C and -30C. It will remain that way all day with temperatures nearly stationary and strong winds increasing out of the southwest 50-70km/h. Some flurries with blowing snow is possible today for parts of southern Quebec. A shot of lake effect snow from Lake Ontario actually made it as far as the border areas of southern Quebec, Ontario and New York last night, so highways in those areas are snow covered with blowing and drifting snow. In Montreal we have the ice to contend with after the copious amounts of rain and snow melt from early Monday. Flooding was a problem on many Montreal highways including here on L'Ile Perrot. It has since frozen solid making it dangerous to walk. It will remain cold into Thursday before temperatures moderate back to near the freezing point.

The storm responsible for this mess is now in far northern Quebec. In its wake, it has left behind extreme cold all the way into the deep southern US. Record cold temperatures were established across a wide area from the northern plains to Florida. Dangerous windchill values and blowing snow forced the closure of many highways and stranded thousands at airports from Chicago to Boston, New York, Toronto and Montreal. As a matter of fact Toronto's Pearson Airport has a ground stop until at least 9am this morning. Lake effect snow along the shores of Lakes Huron, Erie and Ontario has created blizzard conditions for many communities south and east of the region. In and around Perth & Huron counties the snow forced the OPP to close highways and even suspend the snowplows. In New York, heavy snow, from 2-3 feet is forecast south of Buffalo. Interstate 81 was closed yesterday south of Watrertown, NY. At one point Chautauqua, New York had heavy snow and 45mph winds with an air temperature of -19C (-2F) and windchill readings below -30, just extreme weather! The snow reduced visibility to under a 1/4 mile for most of Monday. It will continue today.