Published March 1, 2024 at 12:13 am.
Several cities in Quebec have never experienced a winter like this. Explanations.
Excellent news
February was very mild everywhere in Quebec. A record was even broken in Val-d'Or: the hottest month ever recorded in this city, with a positive anomaly of 6°C. In fact, the last month of the meteorological winter contributed significantly to a historic season. This is unknown in many cities. There have been three very warm winters in the last 25 years, and in these cases they were harbingers of good news for the future.
“The winter is record-breaking almost everywhere in Quebec,” says Réjean Ouimet, meteorologist. February contributed to the largest anomaly of the three months. The province remembers the historic mild seasons of 2002, 2010 and 2016. The following springs were warm, although with surprises such as cold snaps in April 2016 or late snowfalls in 2010 and 2002.”
A big oversight
The winter of 2023-2024 has also forgotten the snow. In fact, snowfall was light across Quebec during the quarter. In this respect, no region reached normality. Surprising fact: Montreal scored the highest percentage compared to the season average.
Record in Montreal
Montreal officially experienced its second mildest winter in history. In fact, the metropolis reached the 2002 mark with an average of -3.2°C for the entire weather season from December 1st to February 29th. But in February the anomaly was most noticeable, with a difference of 4.4°C above normal.
“January was colder than December, with an increase in February,” explains Réjean Ouimet. Except that the scenario has been inflated on steroids with deviations of three degrees or more per month compared to normal. We could imagine a winter in the future. »
Early spring
Now that we know the outcome of the 2023-2024 winter, what can we expect for the spring that begins on March 1 (weather season)? Given similar seasons in 2002, 2010 and 2016, the mild trend should continue in the coming months. This does not mean that there will be no cold or snow in March and even April, but the prevailing atmospheric context does not seem to be dissipating. However, the consequences of a particularly dry winter must be kept in mind if the spring also proves to have little precipitation.