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Its been extremely cold here. The snow hasn't melted at all. Im from NJ where the weather is definitely cold in terms of the usa as oppose if you live in the west coast. But the snow hasn't melted in like 1 month since snow got here. Even though there is sun... the snow doesnt even melt. I mean even in NJ if there is sun, after 2 week max the snow will melt. I went outside and it was extremely cold. I found out that it was actually 10 degrees below zero which is unheard of even in NJ.
Its been extremely cold here. The snow hasn't melted at all. Im from NJ where the weather is definitely cold in terms of the usa as oppose if you live in the west coast. But the snow hasn't melted in like 1 month since snow got here. Even though there is sun... the snow doesnt even melt. I mean even in NJ if there is sun, after 2 week max the snow will melt. I went outside and it was extremely cold. I found out that it was actually 10 degrees below zero which is unheard of even in NJ.
I wouldn't expect the snow to melt away completely during the winter in Montreal. It can happen sometimes (or at least most of it can disappear - especially right downtown), but it's never a given.
Usually by early to mid-March most of of it will be gone. In milder winters with light snow it can be gone by late February some years. And some years it can stick around longer even.
This year and last year has been bad. a year before last year when I arrived here from NYC, it was quite mild. Another difference is NY/NJ they use lot of salt that melts the snow which they don't use here . Moreover Montreal is quite further in North(almost 450 Miles) over the top of NJ. Try compairing winter in NJ with Raleigh NC which almost the same distance below NJ.
Just consider the summer a VERY short break from the winter ;-)
I've been living in Montreal (7 years) and Waterloo/Ontario (3 years), and my personal opinion is that Waterloo was having somewhat shorter winters, less cold and less snow on average.
All those waters surrounding the island of Montreal are contributing to this amplified coldness effect. I remember by snow boots lasting for less of an year in MTL (I walk a lot in general) while in Waterloo they could survive even for 2-3 years.
Now it's been about 2 months since I've relocated to Colorado - Denver area. And while Colorado still has winter/4 seasons, the winter seems to be much milder here. In some days it may go as low as -11...-15 degrees Celsius, but just for 1-2 days. The temperatures then go back to a more accommodating +10 degrees Celsius - having lots of sunshine (about 300 days on average) makes the snow melt away quite rapidly. And the air is much much drier (extreme to what one observes in Canada I would say - you have to live it yourself in order to understand). So my feeling is that Colorado winters feel more like Eastern/Central Europe winters. Sometimes more intense but the "feels like" and current temp are matching almost all the time - and the winters may be shorter - closer to what one should bear as a "winter season".
Today is +6°C high (feels like 4) in Montreal. But end of last week it was like -28°C low (felt like -40 or something). And there were large swings in between too with temps going above zero range just 2 days after -30 freeze.
Winters in Montreal are humid and volatile, with abrupt and large temperature fluctuations. I usually don't have a problem with -30°C weather in a continental climate, but it's humid here too making cold very stingy and harsh when it penetrates through clothes and/or reaches open skin. Also, there may be strong persisting winds with gusts here from time to time adding to excitement.
Its been extremely cold here. The snow hasn't melted at all. Im from NJ where the weather is definitely cold in terms of the usa as oppose if you live in the west coast. But the snow hasn't melted in like 1 month since snow got here. Even though there is sun... the snow doesnt even melt. I mean even in NJ if there is sun, after 2 week max the snow will melt. I went outside and it was extremely cold. I found out that it was actually 10 degrees below zero which is unheard of even in NJ.
If this is your first winter here and you're lookng for a benchmark I'd say this winter has been harsher than usual so far. Much colder (though I'm sure NJ has been colder than usual as well) and a bit snowier than the norm.
But ya, snow melting away entirely in January/February is not a likely scenario here.
This year and last year has been bad. a year before last year when I arrived here from NYC, it was quite mild. Another difference is NY/NJ they use lot of salt that melts the snow which they don't use here . Moreover Montreal is quite further in North(almost 450 Miles) over the top of NJ. Try compairing winter in NJ with Raleigh NC which almost the same distance below NJ.
Montreal uses more ''salt'' than New York - it's the 5c difference between both cities that counts here.
New York is frequently above freezing in winter... mother nature takes care of the snow/ice accumulations there
Its been extremely cold here. The snow hasn't melted at all. Im from NJ where the weather is definitely cold in terms of the usa as oppose if you live in the west coast. But the snow hasn't melted in like 1 month since snow got here. Even though there is sun... the snow doesnt even melt. I mean even in NJ if there is sun, after 2 week max the snow will melt. I went outside and it was extremely cold. I found out that it was actually 10 degrees below zero which is unheard of even in NJ.
Its in the ballpark for Montreal winters,another blizzard or two might be upcoming and maybe another bout or two of arctic low temps, it will all be over by early April.
Yes, that's Montreal in winter for you. It's as cold as Moscow or Minneapolis. Expect snow to remain on the ground for much of the winter. And it's actually one of the warmest parts of Quebec.
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