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Montreal freezing rain warning issued for Tuesday with snowflakes in the mix

A severe weather alert is in effect for hours of icy precipitation with risks of sleet and snow.

Laura Osborne
Written by
Laura Osborne
Editor, Time Out Canada
Freezing rain fall
Photograph: Shutterstock / Vasyl Rohan
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Environment Canada has issued a freezing rain warning for Quebec starting Tuesday morning into early afternoon.

Freezing rain is expected to start on Tuesday morning, and could persist for many hours.

Environment Canada cautioned that highways, roads, sidewalks, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery.

Drive cautiously, keep an eye out for taillights ahead and ensure a safe following distance in slippery conditions. 

Freezing rain
Photograph: ilmarinfoto / Shutterstock

The system approaching Quebec from the southwest on Tuesday will linger into Wednesday, bringing nearly every type of winter weather. 

Rain is expected to dominate in southern areas, including Montérégie, Estrie, Beauce, and Montreal, where precipitation will mainly fall in liquid form. 

Rain
Photograph: Shutterstock / Kichigin

However, temperatures hovering around the freezing point could bring risks of sleet or freezing rain, which should be closely monitored. 

A few snowflakes may also mix in with the precipitation.

Will it snow in Montreal this November?

A snowless autumn (the third time on record!) is being predicted for Montreal in 2024. 

Montreal has only experienced a snowless autumn on record twice: In 1957 and 2006, when no measurable snowfall was recorded between September 1 to November 30.

Fast forward to 2024, when Montreal may witness the same unusual phenomenon.

There’s no time like the present to plan a late-fall hike, wander hat-less around the city’s Christmas markets or take in all the holiday lights after dark.

Plus all the free outdoor activities coming up, like the glow-in-the-dark holiday train stopping in Montreal and the Coca-Cola holiday caravan that's making it's way across the province.

When is it going to snow in Montreal?

But when it comes to skiing, skating and all the free winter outdoor programming that’s happening in Montreal this December, we may have to wait longer than usual.

Esplanade Tranquille
Photograph: Rémi Hermoso

According to The Weather Network, the long-term forecast suggests that conditions unfavourable for snow are likely to remain until the end of November, with high temperatures above the seasonal average expected for the week.

The last few days of November may see a drop in temperature, with daytime and evening temperatures approaching freezing. 

And these conditions are expected to persist in southern Quebec until December, 2024. 

Montreal may see some flurries, but without necessarily accumulating a snow cover (at least 2 cm of snow must be on the ground in order to be measured). 

For more updates from The Weather Network, click here.

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