After the arrival of the cold, here is a new period of mild weather overhanging southern Quebec during the weekend.
With temperatures above seasonal norms, namely 7°C on Saturday and 8°C on Sunday, Montrealers will experience more pleasant weather over the weekend. This trend should continue Monday until the end of the day when temperatures will drop to return to normal, around 2°C.
“The temperatures will start to drop at the end of the day, so we will still see the maximum exceed normal on Monday,” said Félix Biron, meteorologist at Environment Canada.
Although not much precipitation is expected in the next few days, about 15 to 25 mm of rain will fall on the south of the province. “Since there is not much snow left, there is less risk of flooding caused by water runoff,” explained Mr. Biron.
Elsewhere in the province, the thaw is felt although it is less significant. This is particularly the case in Quebec where the temperatures for Saturday (1°C), Sunday (5°C) and Monday (4°C) will be above seasonal norms, i.e. -1°C. The situation is similar in other regions such as Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean.
“It is certain that the temperatures can be colder in these regions, but they remain above normal,” added the meteorologist.
In the more northern regions, a little snow is expected, but nothing huge, said the specialist. Thus, regions such as Gaspésie could have around 5 to 10 cm of snow in the next few days.
Warm spells after the snow: little impact on the start of the ski season
The mild spells will have had a limited impact on the ski season which is gradually starting in the province.
Thus, among the 13 stations which were to open this weekend, 11 were able to accommodate skiers. Only the ski resorts of Mont-Saint-Bruno, in Montérégie, and Gleason, in Centre-du-Québec, had to postpone their opening due to weather conditions.
“In general, the resorts will open at the beginning of December, so we are still on schedule,” explained Sophie Leblanc-Leroux, communications coordinator for the Association des stations de ski du Québec (ASSQ).
The latter also specified that these postponements of opening are not worrying at the beginning of the season since it is generally from the holiday season that people start to go more frequently on the slopes.
According to ASSQ statistics, traffic before the holidays is rather marginal, so much so that this period represented 4.6% of annual traffic in 2021-2022.
“Between the holidays, it’s really the most passionate people who will be hitting the trails,” added Ms. Leblanc-Leroux, adding, however, that the resorts already open this season are experiencing good traffic.
While it’s nicer to ski in milder weather, skiers are truly prepared for all temperatures, she also said.