Wicked winds and more snow headed to Montreal for first weekend of spring

The beginning of spring has felt like anything but! The first full day of spring on Wednesday was marked with accumulating snow, hail and gusty winds. And there is more winter weather on the way.

The spring air early Thursday morning was like a slap in the face. The temperature in Montreal dropped to -9 degrees Celsius and wind gusts over 50 km/h made it feel like -19.

Daytime highs on Thursday are expected to be the coldest of the month so far. Montreal will see a high of only -2C, and wind gusts up to 60 km/h will make it feel like -11.

The normal high for March 21 is 3C.

Southern Quebec is not alone when it comes to cold temperatures. The arctic air is invading much of Central Canada, and Western Canada will also see daytime highs below the freezing mark on Thursday.
Temperatures on Thursday night across Southwestern Quebec will drop into the minus double digits and blustery winds could give windchills around -20 overnight.

Cold air is expected to linger into Friday as well. Forecast highs are expected to stay below average and below the freezing mark.

Meanwhile, eastern regions of the province are bracing for heavy snow.

Snowfall warnings have been issued, east of Quebec City, with 15 to 25 centimetres of snow expected on Thursday. The Gaspe peninsula is under a winter storm warning with snowfall amounts of 20 to 30 cm. Gusty winds will reduce visibility and make travel difficult.

Montreal is also expecting to see more accumulating snow Friday night into Saturday as a system slides by to our south. Early indications show 5 to 10 cm is possible in the city.

Temperatures will climb back above the freezing mark on Sunday and more spring-like conditions are anticipated through the middle of next week.