Published on January 9, 2025 at 4:44 p.m.
Quebec will take a new step this weekend: we will enter the heart of winter. The season will take advantage of this to show us its two typical facets. Forecast.
We enter the heart
When we talk about the heart of winter, we are referring to the coldest time of the year in Quebec. For around forty days, from Kings Day to Valentine’s Day, Quebec records its coldest average temperatures of the year. According to meteorologist Réjean Ouimet:
“It is the lowest contribution of energy from the sun of the year starting in November which explains this cold. The shift from the time of the solstice is explained by the inertia of the atmosphere (and the oceans) which takes a certain time to adjust. This period, however, is in flux depending on the play of air masses. »
The next weekend will therefore be the first in the heart of winter, and it will be perfectly typical of the season. Temperatures will be very close to seasonal norms, with maximums between -4° and -8° in most regions. Gaspésie and the North Shore will be entitled to slightly milder temperatures.
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A system from the west
First of all, an Alberta clipper will be passing through on Saturday. It is a low pressure system that forms in the Prairies, especially in Alberta, and is moving quickly. Its name refers to its speed and the sail shape of the cloud area that surrounds it (a clipper is a very fast sailing ship from the 19th century). We will therefore see clouds and light snow especially in the southwest and southern Quebec. We are talking about less than 5 cm of accumulation.
-Light snow
A clipper usually brings fairly modest amounts of snow, rarely more than 15 cm at this time of year. At the start of winter, the system can become engorged with moisture as it passes over the Great Lakes. This is why we often see heavy snow squalls, especially in the Buffalo area, in November or December. But the water is colder in January, even covered with ice in places. Evaporation is therefore low, and the system can hardly accumulate humidity. Sometimes the system passes squarely north of the Great Lakes. This is the case with this weekend’s clipper. Cold air, however, creates powder snow, often 2 cm, or more, to 1 mm of water (20 to 1), rather than the average ratio of 10 to 1 (1 cm of snow to 1 mm of water). water).
He comes out of his hiding place
On Sunday, the sun should succeed in finding a prominent place in the Quebec sky, especially in the south of the province. We should observe nearly seven hours of sunshine in the Montreal region, and four hours in the Capitale-Nationale. It will be a small dose of much-appreciated vitamin D, because the sun has shunned Quebec since the start of 2025.
With the collaboration of Kevin Cloutier, meteorologist.
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