One Last Snow in Canada, NE, Historical Notes

If you can believe it, the mountains of Ontario, Quebec and New England are going to try to get one last snow in, for the "winter" of 2008-2009, on the evening of May 31st. Here's a map of where the 4-KM WRF model from our Pro Site thinks this snow will have fallen by 8 PM Sunday (this model usually exaggerates amounts during the Spring so don't pay the key much heed - we're really looking at the coverage of snow showers and flurries at most elevations).

Before I go on with the discussion of what's going to happen this weekend, some historical perspective. How unusual IS snow in late May or June in eastern Canada or New England? Here's a list of recent* reports from the AccuWeather Almanac regarding snow after May 20th. If you have any additional reports, leave me a Comment below.

Caribou, ME - June 11, 2000: A mix of snow and sleet, no accumulation. Quebec - May 29, 1996: Ice pellets, rain and snow on the Laurentian Autoroute; dozens of accidents and 1 fatality.

Vermont - May 30, 1996: 6" of snow at Starksboro. New England - May 27, 1994: Late season snow across part of northern Vermont, northern New York, and Maine.

Inuvik, Canada - May 30, 1994: Blizzard conditions; temperatures of 10-18 degrees, 10" of snow and winds over 40 mph Maine - May 22, 1990: Late season snow. 2" at Houghton; 1" at Caribou.

Pennsylvania/New York - June 22, 1972: So cold during "Hurricane Agnes", (38 degrees) that snow pellets were observed in NW PA. New England - May 25-26, 1967: Coastal New England battered by a great Nor'easter. 10" of snow fell in the Berkshires.

Northern ME - June 16, 1964: Snow fell, unusually late occurrence. Caribou, ME - June 17, 1964: Latest snow on record.

Now back to this weekend. Canadian expert Brett Anderson (PREMIUM | PRO) writes:

Brett also has the word on possible frost in the Northeast Monday morning.

Environment Canada has not issued any advisories for the snow, probably due to low population in the target areas. They do have flurries in the forecast for many areas of Quebec. Snow was falling at several reporting stations in Ontario & Quebec this morning (shown in purple below) -- unfortunately out of Canadian Radar (PREMIUM | PRO) range.

Here's the map from our official Weather Headline (PREMIUM | PRO) (does not include Canada snow that will occur before Sunday Night), where we say:

*I am excluding anything from the 1800's or early 1900's which included the Little Ice Age (ever wonder why Christmas is White?) and the Year Without a Summer (which brought snow to some locations in the Northeast for every month of the year).