Unusual 'boomerang' storm haunts Quebec this week
A backtracking low will move into Quebec from Atlantic Canada, bringing the first shot of wintry weather to many by the end of the week.
This start of the week was marked by precipitation in Quebec: Rain in the south and snow for the northern regions, but it has more than one trick up its sleeve.
A strong, high-pressure system off the coast of Europe is going to prevent systems from tracking through Atlantic Canada this week, and instead will have them lingering over the region for days on end.
So, instead of the East Coast storm continuing east out to sea as normal, the high forces the storm west, moving backwards or retrograding, and eventually pushing back into Quebec later this week.
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Atmospheric blocking
An Omega block pattern emerges when two stormy lows stall on either side of a sunny, high-pressure system. The two stormy lows are located in Europe and in Atlantic Canada, which was once in Quebec back on Tuesday.
In this atmospheric pattern, the storms would remain stuck for a prolonged time. In the short range, it is forecast to stay in place along the coast, bringing heavy rainfall to the Atlantic provinces.
Back in Quebec
A fairly rare situation would occur in Quebec towards the end of the week. The Atlantic Ocean high is strong enough to not only halt the typical east-to-west storm movement, but actually force the storm to move backwards.
Instead of the Atlantic Canada storm continuing east out to sea as normal, instead, the high forces the storm west, moving backwards or retrograding, and eventually back into Quebec later this week.
Precipitation is forecast in Quebec again.
At present, models indicate the possibility of a winter weather cocktail occurring on Saturday. Rain is expected in several regions of the province, but mixed precipitation, including a period of snow and ice, is also possible. Locations and amounts are uncertain at this time, but expect travel impacts on Saturday morning across north and eastern Quebec.
This article was translated from MétéoMédia, The Weather Network’s Quebec-based sister station.
Thumbnail courtesy of Getty Images/Christi Nistor/505021568-170667a.
