Most regions of Quebec will see heavy rain this weekend starting Friday, Environment Canada warns. Mountainous terrain north of the river could receive 70 millimeters of rain.
Published at 9:20 p.m. Updated at 9:28 p.m.
The long period of sunshine is coming to an end in most regions of Quebec. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement warning of heavy rain.
In the west of the province, rain is expected to begin late in the day and intensify over the weekend. 50 to 80 millimeters of rainfall is expected in most areas. The majority of precipitation is forecast for Saturday.
As the low pressure area shifts eastward, the predicted rainfall amounts will decrease slightly, from 40 to 70 millimeters.
A slightly later start to precipitation is also expected in these areas, with the majority of the rain falling on Saturday and Sunday. Mountainous areas north of the St. Lawrence River are expected to be more severely affected.
“There could be significant water accumulation on the roads and in the lowlands,” the federal agency adds online.
Some localized locations could receive up to 100 millimeters of water, warns Environment Canada meteorologist Mircea Oltean, citing a “pretty complex system.”
Note that parts of Bas-Saint-Laurent, Gaspésie and the north coast are not covered by this specific weather alert.
Heat records
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Heat records fell in Montreal this week.
This rain episode came after a series of heat records were broken in early October.
New records were recorded across the province on Thursday. In Montreal, the mercury temperature rose to 28.5 degrees Celsius. The old record was 26 degrees in 2005. In the Capitale-Nationale the temperature reached 25.6 degrees, while the old record from 1926 was 23.3 degrees. On the Rivière-du-Loup side, the mercury rose to 23.7 degrees, surpassing the 20.7 degrees recorded in 2007.
In Schefferville, in the north of the province, the mercury reached 21.5 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature ever recorded in this community in October was 20.6 degrees in 1970.
With the rain, the temperature should slowly fall to approach seasonal norms, says Mr Oltean. In Montreal, 25 degrees are expected on Friday, 18 degrees on Saturday and 13 degrees on Sunday. “Next week it will stabilize at around 12 to 13 degrees during the day and 7 to 8 degrees at night,” specifies the meteorologist.