Snow, freezing rain in the forecast for the first weekend of December

While Dec. 1 marks the start of meteorological winter and the deadline to have winter tires installed on vehicles in Quebec, the Montreal area is still snow-free. However, that is about to change.

The first weekend of December will see rounds of light snow push into Southwestern Quebec, and Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement predicting freezing rain on Sunday and Monday. 

"Rapidly accumulating snow may have a significant impact on the rush hour commute in urban areas," read the statement, which affects the following areas:

• Montreal
• Laval
• Mont-Tremblant
• Sainte-Agathe area   
• Vaudreuil area
• Valleyfield
• Beauharnois area
• Mont-Orford
• Lake Memphrémagog area
• Sherbrooke area

MONTREAL FORECAST

After a mild start to the month with a forecast high of 7 degrees Celsius on Dec. 1, Montreal will see rain showers change over to snow flurries Friday night as temperatures begin to drop closer to the freezing mark.

The city will see periods of light snow through the day on Saturday, but steadier precipitation is expected beginning Sunday.

Montreal is expecting rain to change to snow on Sunday evening and 10 cm is possible Sunday night. With temperatures hovering around the freezing mark, wet snow is expected to fall and some of it may melt on contact.

Snow is expected to continue into Monday with an additional 5 cm expected.

Temperatures are expected to drop below the freezing mark next week.