The hope of a white Christmas risks melting like snow by Tuesday due to a major system which will move up the American east coast bringing 25 to 80 millimeters of rain to Quebec depending on the region.
From Montreal to Quebec, following the corridor of the St. Lawrence Valley, 30 to 50 millimeters of rain are forecast between Sunday evening and Monday evening.
At the same time, regions further north and east of Quebec, including Charlevoix and the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve, in the Capitale-Nationale region, could receive up to 80 mm of rain .
Sectors further south such as Estrie and Beauce will have barely a better chance, as they could see around 25 mm of rain fall by Monday evening.
Once the precipitation has passed, temperatures could rise well above seasonal averages to reach 10 degrees Celsius in Montreal and Quebec and even 14 degrees Celsius in Estrie and Beauce. In these latter regions, heat records for December 18 could also be broken, explains Environment Canada meteorologist Julien Chartrand.
Certain regions affected by flooding at this time of year must also be on their guard as “mild temperatures will cause the snow cover to melt, which could contribute more to runoff and raise the level of certain rivers”, warns the federal agency.
Patches of fog could accompany this rain, she also specifies.
A green Christmas
Taking into account the significant amounts of rain and the hot temperatures to come, the chances of experiencing a white Christmas decrease considerably, Julien Chartrand regretfully announces.
“Unfortunately, the chances are quite good that it will be a green Christmas since there is no, in the medium term, any significant system that would leave snow. If it has to happen, it would really be on the skin of the buttocks, on the 23rd or 24th,” he explains.
Environment Canada considers that a Christmas can be described as white if it is possible to measure 2 cm of snow on the morning of December 25. However, only certain sectors in Quebec, such as the Hautes-Laurentides and the heights of Charlevoix, can hope to see their white carpets survive the mild spell predicted in the coming days.
And again, “it won’t be nice snow, but rather a layer of snow that has melted and re-glazed,” specifies Julien Chartrand.
However, Montrealers have been pampered in recent years so we have to go back to 2020 to retrace the last green Christmas experienced by the metropolis. Environment Canada now estimates that there is a one in three chance that the gifts will be unwrapped there while you can see the lawn through the window.
It’s a different story for the Capitale-Nationale where the probability of a white Christmas is around 90%. The last Green Christmas was recorded there in 2015.
Last year, Quebecers spent Christmas surrounded by a thick white carpet, the result of an intense blizzard which also deprived tens of thousands of electricity in addition to causing several deaths in the northeastern states. -United.