Most of the email we get from readers about Montreal has to do with winter weather. How cold does it get? Is it windy? What should we bring for a December or January trip? Since I’m in planning/packing mode for this year’s trip, I thought offer a few thoughts.
I don’t have any breathtaking insights. These questions are hard to answer definitively, and the best example is the latest weather forecast for Montreal:
- Today (Wednesday 12/16): snow and 15°F
- Tomorrow: clear and 8°F
- Fri: clear and 10°F
- Saturday: snow and 15°F
- Sunday: partly cloudy and 17°F
And here’s the norm: 26°F during the day and 12°F at night.
In 6 years of Christmastime vacations in Montreal, we’ve experienced a temperature range from -15° to 40° and heavy snow to rain to dry weather. If you’re planning a short trip of 2-4 days, you can tune your packing more closely to the weather forecast . But for longer trips like ours, we try to be prepared for a broad range of weather, with varying success from year to year.
Here’s the outerwear (and underwear) portion of my packing checklist:
- warm gloves, quality scarf, cap (think cold and wind).
- winter coat: rather than a heavy, long winter coat, I prefer a combo coat and hoodie sweatshirt. Most of the time, you’ll want and need both of them, but for unexpectedly warm days, remove one and wear the other.
- long underwear: your lower extremities will thank you for this.
- socks: we pack a mix of regular winter socks and heavy winter socks.
- shoes: we pack a pair of tennis shoes, and a boot of some kind. I have some Timberland boots that are fur-lined and quite warm. I can wear them every day if I need to (most restaurants are casual). Ideally, your shoes will be waterproof; melting snow can leave huge pools of standing water, especially in Old Montreal. It’s no fun being soaked to the skin.
- umbrella: we had rain briefly in 2007. The cap you packed will come in handy or you can toss a travel-size umbrella in the suitcase.
- sunglasses.
It’s often windy, and even if the forecast doesn’t indicate it, it can still be blustery in the wind tunnel of urban streets. Probably not as intense as a winter day in downtown Chicago, but even if it feels nice when you step out the door of your hotel, I’d still recommend hat, gloves, and scarf.
Layers is the standard recommendation, right? It’s a good idea, especially if your trek around the city includes periods of walking outdoors and walking in the Underground City or while you’re shopping. When you’re indoors, you’ll want to peel off some of your gear without removing all of it.