Spring has sprung across southern Quebec - or has it?

A local garden centre on L'Ile Perrot welcomed the arrival of spring this weekend by placing flowers out, in spite of all the snow from last week's blizzard. (ValleyWeather Photo)

Spring officially arrived at 6:29am on Monday morning, along with sunny and mild weather. The massive snowstorm from last week is quickly becoming a painful-but-distant memory. Tons of snow have either melted or been carted away. On average, over 90 percent of city streets have already been cleared, aided by mild weather and no additional snow. The normal daytime high for Montreal is now above freezing at 5C (41F). However, we still have some winter left to go...

ARCTIC FRONT
A rather strong arctic front will push across southern Quebec late this evening and into the overnight hours. The front will be accompanied by brief, but at times intense, snow squalls. A dusting of perhaps 3 or 4cm of snow is possible. Winds will become strong and gusty out of the northwest, up to 60km/h. More importantly, the temperature will plummet to early-morning lows of -15C (5F) across southern Quebec. Wet roads will likely freeze rapidly late tonight, with icy spots and slick driving expected into the morning commute. Windchill values will drop into the minus 20s. Wednesday will be windy and cold with flurries. Temperatures will struggle to reach -10C (14F). The weather will moderate quickly in the latter part of the week. Sunshine is expected Thursday, with high temperatures approaching 0C (32F). More precipitation should arrive on Friday and persist into the upcoming weekend.