Published on December 22, 2024 at 9:51 p.m.
On Sunday, the wake-up call was brutal: the mercury dropped to -16.7°C in Montreal. Rest assured, this biting cold has an expiration date.
Extreme cold
The Abitibi region had not received an extreme cold warning for almost two years. However, an arctic air mass gripped Quebec over the weekend and caused the mercury to drop well below seasonal norms. In Val-d'Or, the feeling reached -34 early Sunday morning. This intense cold is not over, however: a feeling of -30 is forecast overnight from Sunday to Monday for Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean.
As for the expected daytime maximums, they should not exceed -10°C for most central and eastern regions of the province. In Montreal, a maximum of -8°C is forecast for Monday, almost 6°C below normal. There is, however, a good side to this cold air mass: the absence of humidity prevents the formation of large systems and should therefore offer a good dose of sunshine mid-week.
This cold weather pattern is expected to last through Saturday. Moreover, the night from Tuesday to Wednesday would be particularly cold: the mercury could drop to -18°C for the metropolitan region, Outaouais and Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean. However, it would mark the beginning of a change that will do good.
The hare and the tortoise
Sometimes a rise in mercury can occur within a day or two. However, the one that is emerging on the horizon would progress slowly: from Wednesday, Quebec would begin a long crescendo of temperatures. It is during the next weekend that the mercury will return to seasonal norms.
The mild spell, generated by the arrival of a ridge, would spell the end of this long cold streak which could last nine days. On Saturday, the expected maximums would be slightly below average and on Sunday, they would return to normal. Although it is still early, models predict highs above freezing for the New Year. However, this rise in temperatures would be accompanied by a new system.
SEE ALSO: A long cold streak
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