Winter sports enthusiasts can soon rejoice: According to Environment Canada, a snowstorm is expected across Quebec next week.
The best winter is ahead of us, says Jean-Philippe Begin, a meteorologist at this federal agency. By the middle of next week, “the conditions for a winter storm will be in place,” he says. However, it is still too early to determine the amount of snow that should fall in different regions of Quebec.
Southern Quebec could also get “a little bit of rain” on this occasion, adds Gregory Yang, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. However, this still needs to be clarified later in the week, he said.
Two to five centimeters of snow is expected in southern and central Quebec overnight Wednesday into Thursday this week. On the Bas-Saint-Laurent side, according to Mr Begin, there will be rainfall on Thursday, mainly during the day. “It will brighten the surfaces a little. »
A storm that many were hoping for
The announcement of a winter storm next week is pleasing many, like Kanatha-Aki Center owner Stéphane Denis. The latter offers, among other things, dog sledding and ice fishing in Val-des-Lacs, in the Laurentians. “At the moment we are held back by the fact that we do not have our raw material, snow. Our activities are 80% affected,” he explains to Le Devoir.
Especially since the holidays are a good reason for international tourists to visit. “These people will leave with the disappointment of not having experienced the activities [hivernales] from Canada. For them these are often dreams: once a year people go on a trip and that’s it,” says Mr. Denis.
The latter adds that trained sled dogs see the fact of not going on an excursion “as a punishment.” “But the season is not over yet. So hopefully we still have two to three months. »
Waiting for the snow
While many are waiting impatiently for the first snowflakes, others are taking advantage of the dull weather conditions to get bargains.
“Yes, given the temperature there is more going on here,” says Sophie Bernier of the Quillorama Frontenac bowling alley in Quebec. “We have to refuse at least forty courses a day. We're full, but [à cause de la météo], we're still full! »
“We had more people than last year,” estimates Joffrey Mifsud from the Laser Game Évolution Center in Montreal. “The weather wasn't nice, but there was no snowstorm that would have left us stranded. This year we hit a pretty interesting sweet spot with mediocre temperatures, but people were still able to get around! »
As for the La Bande au Coin billiards salon in Saint-Lambert, it was busy during the holiday season, as it always is at this time.
Several companies that offer indoor activities contacted by Le Devoir reported a very busy holiday season. However, most failed to isolate weather-related traffic from year-end holiday traffic.
The same applies to the Beaubien, du Parc and du Musée cinemas. “According to the program director, there was no significant traffic in our cinemas, although it was a very busy day, especially at Beaubien. On the other hand, we can’t say it’s much busier than usual,” communications consultant Èva Morin said via email.