Weather Network forecasts | A mild winter with lots of precipitation

Temperatures should be above seasonal norms in Quebec and Ontario this winter, particularly in January and February, according to MétéoMédia, which forecasts more precipitation than usual.

The fall of 2024 is heading to be the mildest on record in the southern part of the province, but a cold air mass should allow winter to take hold in the coming days.

“We are going to fall back into much colder temperatures for the first two weeks of December. It will make a good contrast with what we have experienced in recent weeks,” said André Monette, head of the meteorology department at MétéoMédia.

André Monette specified that, for “Quebec and the eastern provinces of the continent, colder temperatures will attempt to set in at the start of the season, but mildness will return in force at the start of 2025”.

Temperatures will therefore be above seasonal norms for the season which runs from 1^is December to February 28.

Lots of precipitation

According to MétéoMédia, the trajectories of the depressions will bring their share of precipitation in various forms, snow, sleet, ice and rain.

“More precipitation than normal is forecast for Ontario and Quebec”, but “less snow precipitation than seasonal normal” for the regions located in the south of these provinces, explained the head of the meteorological service at The Weather Network.

Water and slush could therefore take precedence over snow during the second part of winter, due to the heat.

“On the other hand, for the regions further north, such as Abitibi and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, we will have more snow, even in a particularly snowy winter,” said André Monette.

A mild winter in the Maritimes, but cold in the West

The Atlantic provinces should also experience a mild winter, with few coastal storms, according to MétéoMédia.

Below normal precipitation amounts are expected for areas near the Atlantic Ocean.

In the western Canadian provinces, where winter is expected to be more severe than in the east of the country, the ski season could be particularly interesting.

Several surges of arctic air are expected there, according to MétéoMédia.

“Thanks to the presence of a strong El Niño, the entire country had a very mild winter last year,” said Chris Scott, chief meteorologist for The Weather Network in a press release.

“It will be different this winter for Western Canada where cold temperatures will dominate the season, a consequence of the gradual arrival of La Niña,” he said.