Dress for chilly weather for Montreal's St. Patrick's Day parade
Winds, a temperature swing and possible flooding are all on the radar for southern Quebec this weekend.
Expect below seasonable temperatures this weekend
Montrealers are in for quite a temperature swing as the thermometer drops from 10 C on Friday to a high of –2 C for St. Patrick's Day on Sunday.
Not only will cold air have filtered in, but winds will be a factor, too, with gusts of up to 40 km/h making it feel closer to – 10 C.
The good news is, no precipitation is expected. However, it will be a mostly cloudy day. Our projected daytime high Sunday is four degrees below the average for this time of year.
But it is mid-March, after all, so all it takes is a bit of sun to warm us up nicely. The sun angle is shifting and will continue to do so until the summer solstice on June 21.
Here are some other things to look out for this weekend:
First, a little rain
- In Montreal, just 5 to 10 mm of rain is expected overnight into Saturday.
- Quebec City is expecting the brunt of this system, with 15 to 20 mm of rain in the forecast.
Why Quebec City fears flooding
- There are still 100 centimetres of snow on the ground there.
- Factor in mild air, and that will further lead to rapid snow melt.
- Ideally, we want "Maple Syrup" weather: a melt during the day and a freeze at night.
After this system passes
- Cooler air slings in.
- Temperatures drop throughout Saturday.
- Look for a snow and wet snow mix, with some accumulation expected.
- It will still be very windy Saturday, with gusts of 60 km/h out of the southwest.
- Only on Monday will the winds die down.