Montrealers enjoying warm spell in normally frigid, frosty January

Montrealers are enjoying a warm spell in what is normally one of the coldest periods of the year.

With temperatures expected to hover above the freezing mark for much of the coming week, the respite from the normally frigid days of January will continue for some time.

Robert Michaud, a meteorologist at Environment Canada, said the unseasonably warm temperatures are being felt across Eastern Canada.

“We’re talking about anywhere from between 5 to 10 degrees Celsius above average so far in Montreal and southern Quebec and even Ontario. That’s a lot.

“It was only a few days between January 6-9 that we were around minus 8 to 10 degrees Celsius for highs. That’s pretty near normal. So the rest of the month, except for those four days, it’s been systematically 5 to 10 degrees above normal.”

Michaud used Tuesday’s temperatures as an example. “For today, the 17th of January, we usually have a high of -6 C, and lows of -15 C. The average temperature is usually -15 C this time of year.

“This morning it was -4 C, so that’s around two degrees difference (from the average).”

He said no daily temperature records have been broken just yet, and most outdoor rinks won’t be affected for another week.

“The record for Jan. 17 was 8 degrees in 1990, so we didn’t set a record,” Michaud said.

Although ‘January thaws’ are common early in the month, Quebecers usually bundle up as temperatures plummet at the end of the month, Michaud said.

“Typically for southwestern Quebec, anywhere from mid-January to the beginning of February is the coldest part to the year . ... Two winters ago, there was a polar vortex over us.”

But despite recent warm weather, Michaud warned that winter is far from over.

“I remember some winters when it wasn’t too bad in January and February, then March came and we had wind chill warnings in effect.”

Montrealers will recall the Storm of the Century in March 1971 when 43.2 centimetres of snow and high winds brought the city to a halt.

“Winter is not over yet,” Michaud cautioned.

PIERRE OBENDRAUF Most outdoor rinks won’t be affected by the warmer than usual weather for another week, says Robert Michaud, a meteorologist at Environment Canada.