White Christmas: hope is reborn in southern Quebec

Small system

A small system coming from Alberta should follow a trajectory that runs along the Great Lakes to pass south of Quebec. Sectors located near the border are most likely to be affected by this disruption. In fact, it should just touch the Belle Province. According to models, small amounts of snow are expected by Saturday morning.

Uncertain trajectory

The exact trajectory of the system is uncertain at the time of writing. Friday afternoon, the sectors closest to the American border risk accumulating a few centimeters, notably Montérégie and Estrie. The light snow would be of low intensity.

Low temperature

Friday looks set to be particularly cold as an arctic air mass enters Quebec. A mercury of -7°C or lower is expected during snowfall. When the air temperature is this low, flakes accumulate more quickly than when the mercury is near freezing. The texture of the snow is therefore lighter and powdery. For the same quantity of water, accumulations are greater when the surface air is cold.

Five centimeters

If Friday’s system takes a favorable trajectory, the probabilities of accumulating more than 5 cm for the Montérégie and Estrie sectors are relatively good. However, in greater Montreal, although accumulations are likely, the chances of reaching 5 cm are lower.

According to the models, the cold should dominate until the beginning of next week. Areas that will be able to accumulate more than 2 cm have a good chance of having their white Christmas, which requires 2 cm or more on December 25 at 7 a.m.

With the collaboration of Kevin Cloutier, meteorologist.

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