Montreal may have gotten a brief reprieve from the rainy weather on Friday, but it isn’t going to last.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Montreal ahead of another significant rainfall event expected to hit Sunday.
The statement, issued early Friday morning, warns of 15 to 25 mm of rain on the way — and the concern isn’t just the rain itself. River levels are already high and the ground is saturated from the week’s previous rainfall, meaning there’s little capacity to absorb what’s coming. Environment Canada warns that water pooling is likely along the edges of bodies of water and in poorly drained areas across the island.
According to the Canadian Press, as of 1 p.m. on Friday, there was one medium flood, at the Ouareau river north of Montreal, as well as 20 minor floods and 19 spots under surveillance.
The system is expected to move in overnight Saturday into Sunday, which makes for a sharp turnaround from what’s shaping up to be a genuinely nice Saturday. Temperatures will reach 21°C with sunny skies before rain arrives overnight. Sunday then drops to a high of just 7°C with periods of rain and windy conditions throughout the day.
The cold sticks around into next week. Expect a low of -2°C Sunday night and -5°C Monday night before temperatures gradually climb back toward normal by midweek, with highs returning to the mid-teens by Wednesday.
It’s not the greatest backdrop for a city that’s already bracing for a slow start to summer.
A recent MétéoMédia report flagged that May and June are shaping up to be cooler than normal across southern Quebec this year, with an incoming El Niño pattern pushing warmth toward Western Canada and leaving the east with unsettled conditions. What the weather network calls “felt summer” — when temperatures durably settle around 23 to 25°C — typically arrives around mid-June in Montreal. This year, that milestone could come later than usual.
For now, the more immediate concern is Sunday. Environment Canada is asking residents to keep an eye on alerts as the weekend develops.