Montreal weather this week: Includes clear skies to observe the eclipse

Mainly sunny skies over Montreal today — Mother Nature gifting residents a dazzling view (with your eclipse glasses on) of the astronomical wonder.

Eclipse watchers in Quebec are expected to be luckier than their neighbours to the west, said Montreal-based Environment Canada meteorologist Dominic Martel.

“We have some clear sky conditions everywhere along the path of the total eclipse, and even the partial eclipse on the periphery of the path,” he said in an interview on Sunday.

Martel said modelling in recent days has consistently shown a big high-pressure ridge sitting over the province, adding to his confidence in the forecast.

“The only uncertainty,” he said, is how quickly the clouds in Ontario move into southern Quebec.

He said the forecast shows cloud cover arriving in Montreal around 6 p.m. The city is expected to experience totality just before 3:30 p.m. and be out of the eclipse’s path entirely by around 4:30 p.m.

“If those clouds move a little quicker, they might show up near the end of the eclipse,” he said. “But I highly doubt it.”

Temperatures this week, not seen since October in Montreal — with highs of 16 degrees.

More sunshine is on the way for Tuesday, with the mercury steady.

Then it’s wet weather moving in for the rest of the week.

Rain is expected Wednesday through to Saturday — with temperatures of 13, then back up to 16 on Friday and dipping to 10 degrees after that.

Sun and clouds in the forecast for Sunday — and a high of 15.

The average highs for this time of year is at about 8.5 degrees.

—With files from The Canadian Press