Cold days, snowy periods this week in Montreal

If you were hoping for a break from the cold, this week’s forecast has other plans.

A clearing sky this morning won’t last long as a cold northwesterly wind sweeps across the region. Temperatures will continue to fall, reaching –7°C with a wind chill near –11°C.

Skies remain clear this evening before cloud cover thickens near midnight. Light snow is expected to begin before morning. The temperature will dip to –8°C, with a wind chill near –12°C.

On Tuesday, light snow will taper off late in the afternoon, leaving cloudy skies and about 2 cm of accumulation. The high will be –5°C, with a wind chill near –9. Cloudy periods follow at night with a low of –7°C.

“Tuesday will bring light snow, about 2-3 cm max,” said Serge Besner, meteorologist at Environment Canada.

Periods of snow are forecast Wednesday with a high near 0°C, continuing into the night as temperatures fall to –10°C. Sunshine returns Thursday with a high of –8°C, and clear skies overnight will send temperatures down to –13°C.

Friday brings cloudy conditions and a 60 per cent chance of flurries, with a high of –1°C, followed by a 40 per cent chance of flurries overnight and a low of –7°C.

“Most of the snow will stay on the ground for the next week or two, maybe longer as the ground has started to freeze,” said Besner.

The weekend stays cool: Saturday will be cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of flurries and a high of –3°C, before dropping to –13°C under cloudy periods at night. Sunshine returns Sunday with a high of –9°C.

“Sunday evening into Monday temperatures will really drop,” said Besner. “Next week some areas outside of Montreal  could reach –20°C.”