The wave of very cold weather began to cover Quebec overnight from Monday to Tuesday and will set in for a few days. But despite temperatures well below normal, we did not set new weather records.
According to data provided by meteorologist to Environment Canada Simon Legault, it was down to -38 degrees Celsius in the regions of Chibougamau, Abitibi and Matagami, in the north of the province. Further south, the greater Montreal area reached -27 degrees Celsius in the morning Tuesday.
By adding the wind chill index, it is minus -44 degrees that we felt in Chibougamau and minus -35 in Greater Montreal. While these are not historic colds, “these are still not temperatures to which we are used,” recognizes Mr. Legault.
He also warns people who have to put their nose outside, despite the cold, to cover their skin well in order to avoid frostbite.
The meteorologist points out that we are just entering the coldest time of the year, which runs from January 10 to 30, but the temperatures felt this week are expected to be much colder than normal. The maximums forecast for Tuesday are lower than the normal minimum for this time of year.
Tuesday will also be the coldest day in Quebec this week. As of Wednesday, the meteorologist expects that “a nice improvement” will be observable everywhere in Quebec as well as in New Brunswick.
“The temperatures will return to closer to normal and we will even have a little snow in certain regions of Quebec,” he predicts.
Eastern Quebec is doing slightly better because of the presence of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which softens the temperature a bit.