Spring warmth feels so good

A byproduct of the snowy cold winter in Boston has been lots of ice tumbling off roofs. In the last week several cars have been crushed by falling snow. Thankfully no injuries have been reported. The trend will only continue as milder air moves north. Photo: Burlington, Massachusetts Fire Department.

The temperature soared to 10.9C (52F) Tuesday afternoon at my home on L'Ile Perrot. The water is running in the streets with the beautiful sound of melting snow. It is a wonderful break from the cold of February and a strong indication that we have turned the page as far as winter goes. That being said, I have lived in Montreal long enough to know what the rest of March and even early April can bring in terms of snowfall. As I have mentioned in the past, some of our biggest storms have occurred in March.

A spectacular image taken from a YouTube video posted by corbou2000. It was taken with a drone at the Berry Hills Road snow dump outside Moncton, New Brunswick. Snow from the more than 400cm that has fallen on that cities roads is trucked to this location. The snow pile towers high into the sky and may be there until the start of next winter! (TWN)

We can expect one more day of above normal temperatures before a cold front drops us down to near normal for Thursday and Friday. The overnight low will remain above freezing tonight leveling off at 3C (38F) before a high Wednesday of 6C (43F). Gusty southwest winds of 30-60km/h will develop and last into Wednesday along with increasing clouds and perhaps some light showers. Skies will clear out late Wednesday with colder weather and a low into Thursday morning of -8C (18F). Thursday and Friday will be fair with cooler highs near 0C (32F).

MARCH SNOWSTORM?
By Saturday morning, models are starting to come into agreement in bringing two low pressure areas, one from the southern US and another from the Great Lakes, northeast into New England. A surge of moisture along with mild air should arrive in southern Quebec and Ontario by Saturday. It may be just cold enough in Montreal and the St. Lawrence Valley for snow on Saturday. I am watching the different scenarios closely and hope to get a better handle on the weekend forecast within the next 24 hours. If the precipitation falls as all snow, amounts could be more than 10cm (4 inches). Some rain  may be possible as well. Skies will clear by midday Sunday with a return to sunshine and milder weather.