Major snowfall and cold temperatures among a few 'firsts' for Montreal
After a mild fall, overall, and a cool November, a couple of things were noticeably missing in Montreal, Que...until this week.
In one quick swoop, the major Quebec city was hit by a significant winter storm, and temperatures below the freezing mark –– events that hadn't happen all fall.
Montreal went the entire month of November without seeing a daytime high temperature below freezing. It has happened in the past, but it’s a bit abnormal.
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Although the month ended slightly below normal, there weren’t any extreme cold or extreme warm days. They were pretty normal with no major swings.
December off to a chilly, snowy start
December started with reminding Montreal that winter is here.
Here are a few of the firsts of the season so far.
First daytime high temperature below freezing occurred Sunday, Dec. 3.
First major snowstorm of the year occurred from Sunday to Monday, dropping 33 cm of snow
Montreal saw its first -10°C Tuesday overnight
Temperatures are forecast to remain cold. They will be the chilliest of the season so far, as the next couple of days could feature -20°C temperatures are possible around metro Montreal.
That will keep the snow that fell on the ground, but warmer temperatures are on the horizon with another system expected to move in this weekend.
A major, early-December snowstorm is considered quite rare in Montreal.
Since 1942, when meteorological data began, such an event has had less than a 50 per cent chance of occurring each year.
The magnitude of this week's storm, and the date upon which it hit, is fairly rare. The city of Montreal typically sees its first snowfall of 15 cm or more around Dec. 23.
With files from Matthew Grinter, a meteorologist at The Weather Network, and Francis Briere, an editor at MétéoMédia, a Canadian French-language weather information specialty channel and website owned by Pelmorex.
