After the record warmth - record snowfall?

From spring to mid-winter in a weekend. Heavy snow falls on L'Ile Perrot Tuesday afternoon. (ValleyWX Photo)

Depending where you were across the island of Montreal and Laval on Tuesday, you may or may not have broken the 24-hour snowfall record for December 29th. The record for the date was 30.5cm set in 1954. According to Environment Canada's website, 39cm (15.5 inches) of snow fell at Trudeau Airport, making it one of the top five December storms. However, I measured around 28cm (11 inches) here on L'Ile Perrot, so the validity of the record is in question as far as I am concerned. Winds gusted to over 80km/h in the St. Lawrence Valley, so the exact measurement of the snowfall was difficult at best. Adding to the difficulty was the presence of freezing rain and sleet along the St. Lawrence River, which affected final snow totals from location to location.

Record or not, this has been one bizarre weather month. After being above freezing for the first 27 days of the month, with multiple record highs and only 2-3cm of snow, the last two days have presented mid-winter conditions with lots of ice and snow and biting cold. The storm created numerous delays and cancellations at Trudeau Airport, along with hundreds of accidents on area highways. Holiday traffic was much lighter than normal in Montreal, which helped the traffic flow despite the snow. The cold weather is here to stay with more light snow forecast into New Year's Day. High temperatures will be around 0C (32F) through Friday, with lows down to -8C (18F).