Thursday, January 02, 2014

Extreme cold for Montreal - windchill warning

Montreal remains frigid on the northern edge of a large winter storm.
WINDCHILL WARNING
Windchill warnings are in effect for many regions of Quebec and Ontario including Montreal. A nasty northeast wind this morning is turning a bitter morning into a dangerous one outside. Current temperatures across southern Quebec are in the -25C to -30C range with windchill readings nearing -40C. I have -26C here on L'Ile Perrot with a windchill of -30C. The cold will be with us all day along with clouds and a strengthening northeast wind up to 40km/h. Look for high temperatures to do no better than -22C, extreme cold. Light snow will develop this afternoon.

Montreal remains on the northern edge of a developing coastal low that will move from Cape Hatteras to Atlantic Canada over the next 48 hours. The storm is sending moisture well ahead of it with snow from southern Ontario across central New York and into southern Vermont. As the coastal low strengthens some moisture may make it north into Montreal tonight with perhaps 2-5cm (1-2") of fluffy, very dry snow. With the cold and wind it will not be a nice day outdoors. The storm will slam the northeast and New England with 6" to as much as 2 feet of snow. The snow will be blown around by very strong winds (25-45 mph) causing blizzard conditions at times across coastal Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Long Island. Coastal flooding is also possible with a strong lunar tide as well as onshore flow. Boston and New York will also have snow with this storm. Travel will be affected across the region today so plan/call ahead. It will remain cold well into the weekend before another storm takes aim at the east for Monday. Milder air with this system will mean a mix of precipitation for us in Montreal by late Sunday.

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