While winter may have taken a brief vacation to end 2024, it will be making a fierce return to Quebec as we ring in the new year.
A Colorado low is approaching the province, first moving up through southern and eastern Ontario overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday.
The low is forecast to blanket southern Quebec and the Eastern Townships in widespread snow throughout Wednesday, which will cause headaches for those waking up after Tuesday night’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.
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Be sure to monitor your local weather alerts and highway conditions before travelling on Wednesday, as the snow could reduce visibility and reduce traction on roads.
Wednesday will feature a wintry start to 2025
Precipitation will begin in the early morning hours of Wednesday, starting off as a wet mix of snow and rain for folks in Montreal and the southern portions of the Eastern Townships as temperatures hover around freezing. Temperatures will continue to drop throughout the morning, however, causing the mixed precipitation to quickly transition into snow.
Montreal can expect to see the heaviest of the snow start to fall by the afternoon hours.
Along the Ontario border, Gatineau will see wet, heavy snow falling through Wednesday morning.
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Luckily the winds won’t add on to the snowy headaches on Wednesday, with gusts limited to a maximum of 40-50 km/h.
Folks in Trois-Rivières, Quebec City, and parts of the Eastern Townships will be bearing the brunt of the snowfall as the low tracks through southeastern portions of the province.
Prolonged heavy snow will fall over these areas beginning Wednesday afternoon and continuing through Thursday’s early overnight hours. Winds will also be gusting to 60 km/h, which could result in some blowing snow over roadways.
Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a special weather statement for some of these areas, stating up to 15+ cm of snow is possible by Thursday morning.
Winds will also continue to pick up through Thursday, reaching their peaks for Montreal and the Richelieu Valley with up to 70 km/h gusts.
Combined with snow flurries, we could see hazardous travelling conditions continue throughout parts of southern Quebec due to poor visibility on Thursday.
The low will also be opening the doors for cold, Arctic air to flood into Eastern Canada. The first few weeks of 2025 will feature bouts of near- to below-normal temperatures across the province.
Stay with The Weather Network for more forecast information and updates on your weather across Quebec.