Alpine weather forecast

Slowly but surely

Welcome to the first alpine forecast of the 2025-26 season! And we’re happy to report that the wintery conditions observed during the first few days of December will continue with temperatures remaining very winter-like and occasional shots of snow.

Wednesday will be relatively quiet thanks to a weak ridge of high pressure over New England. After a sunny morning, cloud cover will increase by midday. Winds will be from the north with a high near -8C in the alpine. Winds will turn southwest and increase to moderate (30-50 km/h) by Wednesday evening ahead of an approaching cold front. Light snow will develop Thursday morning and persist through the entire day. Snowfall rates will be fairly light around 0.5cm/hr. The rather vigorous cold front is forecast to sweep across the Chic-Chocs around 3pm Thursday. Its passage will be accompanied by strong gusty winds shifting to the northwest and a brief period of heavier snow. Total snowfall on Thursday should be in the 5-8cm range with highest amounts in wester sectors including Mont Logan and Mont Blanc.

The air mass in the wake of the cold front will be straight from the Arctic and have a rather frigid bite to it. Alpine temperatures on Thursday night will approach -20C under clear skies, likely the coldest temperatures to date this season. The cold northwest flow will support additional light snow on Friday with an additional 2-3 cm, mostly along the coast and in the foothills. Given that the Saint-Lawrence is completely ice-free, there will be the possibility of snowsqualls on Friday under the strong (60-80 km/h), cold northwest winds. Be on the lookout for heavy blowing snow along the coast. Lighter westerly winds are in store for Saturday with increasing sun and a high near -10C.

Looking deeper into the crystal ball, our next shot at snow arrives Sunday and Monday with another few centimetres. While there’s no major snowstorms in sight, confidence is good that the cold air will persist through at least mid-December. This pattern could lead to faceting within the shallow snowpack so keep those snow crystal loupes handy!

Forecast Confidence :

Generally good confidence overall. As mentioned above, the air mass that will descend upon the Chic-Chocs Thursday night will be glacial. Hopefully your wood is all stocked up for the winter cause December’s first half looks rather chilly. Confidence with respect to the potential snowsqualls on Friday is low, but the pattern is the right one so keep an eye on Environment Canada’s forecasts and warnings.