While Montrealers are enjoying the strange heat that reigns over the metropolis, the City is preparing to break up the ice when the thermometer drops during the night from Wednesday to Thursday.
What there is to know
Montreal and the rest of southern Quebec broke heat records on Tuesday, a warm spell that will continue this Wednesday.
However, this weather will come to an abrupt end during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, with a rapid drop in the mercury.
The City of Montreal is preparing to have to quickly de-ice its sidewalks and streets.
With 15 degrees mercury, the metropolis shattered a historic heat record on Tuesday dating back to the year 2000. The scenario should be repeated this Wednesday. The cause is a warm front coming from the southwest of the United States which creates a spring in the heart of winter.
However, Montreal’s blue-collar workers don’t have time to bask in the sun.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Olivier Breault Clairoux and his friend Sandra Charles take a break in the sun at the Le Brûloire café, rue Fleury Ouest.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Liette Isabel and her mother Marthe Lévesque also took advantage of the good weather.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Lucille Doiron gives her granddaughter a bottle on the side of Park Stanley Avenue.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Laurence Bourgault-Lavoie received a visit from a surprise guest at Ahuntsic Park.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
The current temperature is highly unusual for February.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Julie Tougas lounges in her hammock near the Rivière des Prairies.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Environment Canada is warning residents of the greater Montreal area: surfaces could become icy and slippery on Thursday.
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PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
In a dozen hours, the mercury could go from around 13 degrees to –13 degrees, according to Environment Canada.
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“We are raising the alert level,” said Tuesday the municipal representative responsible for snow removal, Maja Vodanovic, in an interview with The Press.
It’s that Mme Vodanovic and his services fear the sudden drop in temperatures expected for the night from Wednesday to Thursday. In a dozen hours, the mercury could go from around 13 degrees to –13 degrees, according to Environment Canada. A descent accompanied by precipitation of rain, then snow.
If it’s raining a lot, but it’s very windy and there’s no snow on the sidewalks, it’s going to be okay. But if there’s a lot of rain and it freezes quickly…
Maja Vodanovic, municipal elected official responsible for snow removal
“Everyone will be alert,” added M.me Vodanovic. Crews will be ready to spread the salt when necessary. But we can’t add the salt first, because it will just be washed out. You have to add the salt once it starts to freeze. »
Environment Canada also warns residents of the greater Montreal area: “Surfaces, such as roads, streets, sidewalks and parking lots, could become icy and slippery. »
A gentle release
The current temperature is highly unusual for February.
“Today in Montreal, we reached 15 degrees. We beat the old record, which was 11 degrees in 2000,” Michèle Fleury, spokesperson for the federal meteorological agency, said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
The rest of the southern regions of Quebec experienced the same type of very mild temperature.
It is “a vast low pressure system coming from the southwest of the United States which brings a mass of mild air over the entire province”, indicated Mme Fleury.
A cold front will cause the “sudden cooling” of the day on Thursday, before the return of mild weather on Friday with the return of the American system. “Starting Friday and for the weekend, temperatures are expected to be above zero,” said the meteorologist. This trend will continue during spring break next week. »
On Monday, winter sports associations refused to let the yo-yo weather get them down.
“The snow conditions will be “spring” type and many people love this type of conditions,” assured Sophie Leblanc-Leroux, of the Association of Quebec Ski Resorts.
“It is certain that there will be earlier spring conditions, but we can also benefit from very good sliding conditions in the spring,” said Claude Alexandre Carpentier, general director of Ski de fond Québec.
Golf in February
If skiers are worried about playing sports given Tuesday’s heat, golfers from Estrie were able to practice their swing several months in advance of the usual schedule.
PHOTO MAXIME PICARD, LA TRIBUNE
The snow gives way to grass on the golf courses in the Sherbrooke region.
The gallery reported that the Club de golf des Écossais, in Sherbrooke, opened its driving range Tuesday morning.
“It’s a first,” explained the owner of the place, Michel Boutin, to the regional daily. The earliest opening date before this year was March 15. Mr. Boutin reported that around fifteen golfers were on site.
Not far from Sherbrooke, SEPAQ threw in the towel and closed its cross-country ski trails in Orford.
With Lila Dussault, The Press
New records for February 27
- Val-d’Or : 6.4°C, compared to 5°C in 2018
- Maniwaki : 12.8°C, compared to 11.1°C in 1924
- Mont Tremblant : 15.3°C, compared to 11.8°C in 2000
- The Tuque : 11°C, compared to 7.2°C in 1966
- Sherbrooke : 15.5°C, compared to 15°C in 2000
- Rouyn-Noranda : 8°C, compared to -1.7°C in 1952
Bruno Marcotte, The Press