As soon as it falls, as soon as it melts: the snow that has accumulated in Quebec in the last few days could well turn into slush due to a thaw and rain announced in time for New Year’s Day in the south of Province.
“We had a beautiful white Christmas, but it may well be that the 1er January is less festive,” says Simon Legault, meteorologist for Environment Canada.
Temperatures in southern Quebec are expected to rise “day and night” over the next few days, says Legault. “It will lead to a deterioration of the layer of snow on the ground, it will be less beautiful and less abundant too. »
Heavy rain on December 31 could add to this onset of thaw, he adds. “With a fairly significant amount, we are talking about 15 to 20 millimeters of rain. So it’s going to be a lot of slush and puddles. »
Good news despite everything: no freezing rain warning is in progress in the south of the province. “There could be a little when you go between rain and snow, but it should not be generalized on the network. »
In addition, the winds do not seem to want to get involved to complicate the road conditions, specifies Mr. Legault.
More northern regions, such as Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord and Gaspésie, could receive this precipitation in the form of snow.
On the side of Hydro-Quebec, we closely monitor the weather conditions. “For now, we don’t have any particular watch in connection with this coming rain, but obviously we are monitoring this situation closely,” said Lynn St-Laurent, head of media relations at Hydro- Quebec. At the end of the day on Wednesday, thousands of Quebecers are still without electricity, five days after the storm that swept through the province just before the holidays.