Alpine weather forecast

#ColdSnap

Regular readers of our bi-weekly weather outlook will recall the powerful cold front that was scheduled for last night. Just as weather models predicted some four days ago, a rather potent cold front swept across the Gaspé last night generating winds gust upwards of 100 km/h and pressure falls that made the storm worthy of the dramatic “bomb cyclone” title. Consequently, this morning we awake to a proper Arctic air mass with temps 10 degrees colder than Thursday morning. Key take home message from today’s forecast: COLD!!

The silver lining of last night’s cold front is the associated flurries that will pick up Friday afternoon as sea-effect flurries kick in. With totals likely reaching 5-10 cm ( and possibly more along the immediate coastline) the cold front will have left it’s mark. The heaviest hit areas include Mont-Saint-Pierre, Mont-Louis and coastal sections of the 198. The strong NW winds will inevitably have transported fresh snow towards SE aspect. Skies will clear for Saturday night allowing temperatures to drop even further beyond the -30C mark. Needless to say, this will not be an ideal night for winter camping… Sea ice extent in the Saint-Lawrence will gradually be on the rise enough to end the snow flurries come Sunday.

Light snow redevelops midday Sunday as a weak warm front skirts to the south. The moderate southerly flow (40-60 km/h in the alpine) will add another 4-7 cm come Tuesday morning. With temperatures 10-15C below normal throughout the period, it’s safe to call this a proper cold snap  that will favour additional faceting of the snow pack.

Forecast Confidence :

Bonne confiance en ce qui concerne la sévérité du front froid de la nuit dernière; j’ai de la difficulté de penser à d’autre mots pour le décrire que SNAP !! C’était un véritable front froid. Les explétifs ne lui rendront pas justice !!! Woh, woh, -trois points d’exclamation, on se calme, y fait frette, on a tous compris 😉 . En regardant à plus long terme, nous avons toujours confiance dans la persistance du temps froid qui incluera des épisodes de neige légère. -Conditions hivernales classique, quoi?!