After a rather mild and snowy month of January, February begins with a polar cold.
The temperature will drop drastically overnight from Thursday to Friday everywhere in Quebec. The perceived temperature could drop to -40°C in Montreal and to -50°C in more northern regions.
“What is special this time is that not only will the air mass be extremely cold, but there will also be winds. It is rather rare,” notes Environment Canada meteorologist André Cantin. The wind speed will thus fluctuate between 30 and 60 km/h.
This combination of cold and wind will be close to freezing temperature records for this time of year.
The City of Montreal saw the blow coming and opened two temporary emergency stops for the homeless.
After Friday night, the coldest of the winter so far, the mercury will gradually rise. Southern Quebec will remain frozen on Saturday with temperatures between -25°C and -30°C, but with weaker winds than the day before.
The cold spell will subside thereafter and the thermometer should indicate around -5°C this Sunday. Next week will start with a light snowfall.
This icy beginning of February contrasts with the very mild month of January. Environment Canada recorded an average temperature about 5 degrees above normal for the season. Successive storms in January, however, left behind almost a meter of snow in southern Quebec, nearly double the historical average.
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