A third weather bomb in three weeks possible in Quebec

In short:

• Up to 20 cm of snow in Gaspésie by Sunday morning;

• Up to 25 cm of snow in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Basse-Côte-Nord;

• Gusts up to 90 km/h in Basse-Côte-Nord and the Magdalen Islands;

• Gusts up to 70 km/h in Gaspésie.

Intensification rapide

The sun was slow to appear in December. The clouds will resume their domination in the east of the province, and it will most likely be with a bang. A system will rapidly intensify over the Atlantic before making landfall in Nova Scotia and sweeping across eastern Quebec. Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland will be the most affected provinces, but the Magdalen Islands, part of Gaspésie and the Lower North Shore are also in the line of sight of the system.

Weather bomb

The development of the system seems to create all the conditions for another weather bomb. Remember that this term describes an explosively developing depression with a drop in atmospheric pressure of at least 24 hectopascals in 24 hours or less. We can therefore observe a discreet system in the evening only to wake up to a storm the next day.

Up to 25 cm in Quebec

The system will bring precipitation in the form of snow, in appreciable quantities. Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island should expect between 15 and 25 cm of snow. Similar quantities are expected in the Îles-de-la-Madeleine and in the Blanc-Sablon sector. In Newfoundland, the west coast, in the Gros Morne National Park area, could receive up to 35 cm of snow. A white Christmas is therefore almost assured in these sectors.

Rare white Christmas in the Islands

We would be led to believe that southern Quebec, particularly the Montreal region, is the sector that is least likely to experience a white Christmas. However, since 1990, the Magdalen Islands have been treated to 15 white carpets for Christmas, an average of 44%. The last white Christmases were observed in 2019 and 2021. Montreal celebrates with its feet in the snow 65% of the time since 1990. Sept-Îles and Saguenay winning the prize for white Christmases with 97%, Val-d’Or is all just behind with 94%, while Quebec and Gaspé follow with 91%, still since 1990.

With the collaboration of Patrick Duplessis, meteorologist.

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