After another day of breaking heat records, Quebec was preparing Tuesday evening for a brutal transition with the arrival of a cold front which will cause the mercury to plunge several dozen degrees in just a few hours.
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At the end of the afternoon, the depression had allowed the creation of storm cells in the Gatineau sector, where a few millimeters of rain were expected, reported Kathleen Maynard-Leclerc, meteorologist at Environment Canada.
The quantity of rain as such is not worrying, “if it were not for the cold which will follow”, underlined Ms. Maynard-Leclerc, referring to a rapid freezing of precipitation which will not fail to make the roads slippery. , especially since this system will be accompanied by strong winds which will generate gusts of up to 90 km/h in southwestern Quebec.
The effects of this great glaciation were already felt in Abitibi during the afternoon, where the thermometer went from 7 to -14°C, a phenomenal drop in mercury of 24 degrees in just a few hours.
In Montreal, the arrival of the depression was expected in the early evening and the mercury will plunge in the following hours, while citizens of Quebec will be able to enjoy the unusual heat until the middle of the night.
One thing is certain, all residents of southern Quebec will have to bring out their winter hats and coats on Thursday to face temperatures below freezing, with -6°C expected in Montreal and -11°C expected in Quebec.
Rain… of records!
This sudden return of cold follows two days of heat records broken throughout Quebec.
Preliminary data for Wednesday suggest that a new mark for February 28 was established in Gatineau, where the temperature rose to 15°C, far beating the 7°C recorded in 2006, explained Kathleen Maynard. -Leclerc.
The metropolis is not to be outdone with a temperature of 13°C, which eclipses the 8.3°C reached in 2017.
Other records should also fall in the province, including in Mauricie, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.
On Tuesday, Quebecers had already had the opportunity to take out their spring outfits in the south of the province, with records which were shattered in Montreal and its surroundings, in Estrie and Abitibi.