It’s coming! Snow on the way, temperatures to drop this weekend
Don’t let Wednesday’s warm temperatures and brief sunny periods fool you; it really is time to dig out the woollies and winter boots. Environment Canada is predicting sinking temperatures over the next week, with snow on the weekend for parts of the province and flurries in Montreal by Tuesday. “Today it (went) up to 12 degrees, and that probably is the warmest we are going to see in the next week at least,” said Peter Kimbell, warning preparedness meteorologist with the Meteorological Service of Canada. “The normal high is plus seven, so we are well above normal today, but it only goes downhill from here on in.” Indeed, Environment Canada is forecasting a high of 8 C for Thursday, then 4 on Friday, 5 on Saturday, 1 on Sunday, and 0 on Monday. Tuesday is showing a high of -1, with a 60 per cent chance of flurries. The Weather Network is forecasting 5 cm of snow in Montreal next Tuesday, and then 1-3 cm of snow on each of next Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Nov. 15, 16, and 17). Some sources, such as the Farmer’s Almanac, have predicted a snowier and colder-than-normal winter in Montreal, while Environment Canada’s seasonal forecast, issued on Oct. 31, said that November, December and January will be slightly warmer than average in Montreal. But Kimbell warned against putting a lot of stock in forecasts of more than a week or two. “We are continuing to advance in the accuracy of our short-term forecasts, but for these long-term or seasonal forecasts, the accuracy is just not there.” But he added “the trend is pretty clear. In the next week to 10 days, possibly even longer, it’s going to continue to be cold.” “In the short term, there is some snow expected northwest of Montreal on Saturday. Abitibi, Rouen, those places are going to get some snow north of Montreal and maybe even in the Laurentians somewhat. And next Tuesday is another possibility (for snow in Montreal). But again, it’s early,” he said. And if you feel like October was a little brutal this year, you’re right. After three months of above-normal temperatures and what seemed like endless heat waves well into September, Montreal had its coldest October since 1993. That was a surprise to some, considering last October was one of the hottest in history. Montreal already had its first snowfall, just before Halloween, on Oct. 27-28, when an accumulation of 3 cm fell overnight. In October, Montreal saw mean temperatures of 6.8 C, which is 1.7 degrees below the normal mean of 8.5 C. And while it may feel like we’ve had a lot of rain this autumn, we actually got less than normal in October, only 75 mm as opposed to the average of 91 mm. Rain was, however, very heavy in some parts of the province in October. The Abitibi, Témiscamingue and Matagami regions got 60 to 100 mm of rain between Oct. 9 and 11, causing basement flooding, culvert failures and flooded and closed roads. Strong winds on Oct. 15 and 16 caused power outages in Montreal, the National Capital and Chaudière-Appalaches regions. Several areas of the Gaspé Peninsula have already seen significant snow accumulation, including Murdochville, which received more than 40 cm on Oct. 24-25.
The normal high is plus seven, so we are well above normal today, but it only goes downhill from here on in.