Weather predictions are reviving hopes of seeing a white carpet spread over southern Quebec: the first snowflakes of the year are expected overnight from Saturday to Sunday. However, the northeastern United States is bracing for significant precipitation, with a “winter storm” warning having been issued for the weekend.
We are expecting around five centimeters of snow in southern Quebec this weekend, confirms Jean-Philippe Bégin, meteorologist for Environment Canada. The temperature is expected to be colder than in December, he explains.
There could be blowing snow in certain regions where gusts will reach 40 km/h, such as in the St. Lawrence Valley. “But it will remain very limited,” indicates the expert.
The situation looks different south of the border. The American weather services on Friday issued a warning for winter weather, a cocktail of snow and freezing rain which could fall this weekend in the northeastern United States.
Precipitation in the form of rain, snow and freezing rain on roads is expected with possible power outages and downed trees, which could cause chaos in road, rail and air transport.
New York and its 8.5 million souls have not seen significant snowfall for almost two years, but the immense state of the same name suffered the “blizzard of the century” at Christmas 2022, with more than of one meter of snow in the large city of Buffalo, on the Canadian border, which left around fifty dead.
For this weekend, from Boston to Washington, along the busy I-95 highway corridor, “travel could be almost impossible,” the National Weather Service (NWS) warned.
Boston and parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut could see up to a foot of snow.
The NWS, however, warned of “uncertainty in the exact path and intensity of the winter storm.”
This did not prevent the Governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, from taking precautions and issuing an “emergency” bulletin urging New Yorkers to be “vigilant”.
Storm forecast for Wednesday
Environment Canada is also forecasting a storm that could complicate rush hour in Quebec on Wednesday morning. It could fall as snow or freezing rain, depending on the temperature. “It is still too early to know what it will be like, but there will definitely be a storm,” warns Mr. Bégin.
The weather disturbances are expected to begin late Tuesday evening and continue into the next day.
We are currently expecting a lot of snow combined with strong winds, warns the meteorologist. “We suggest people think about teleworking possibilities for Wednesday. Traffic could be affected. »