There has already been a lot of rainfall in May and the rain hasn't said its last word!

The first half of May has been a rainy season, and it's not over yet. In some parts of Quebec, precipitation has already exceeded seasonal norms, and there are still several days left on the calendar.

Eric Tomlinson, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, predicts an equally wet future, particularly for areas north and east of Montreal.

"It is very possible that the values ​​will be 10 to 15 millimeters above normal," he said in an interview with the QMI Agency on Wednesday.

In Lac-Saint-Jean, the downpours were unrelenting. More than 116 millimeters of rain fell there, while the normal for the region is around 75 millimeters—an area that is usually less affected than elsewhere.

"Going towards Saguenay and the North Shore, we are already well above normal for the month," added Mr. Tomlinson.

For now, the Eastern Townships, Trois-Rivières, Quebec City, and Montreal have not yet crossed the monthly average threshold, but they are only 11 to 16 millimeters away from doing so. We are therefore not immune to a slight overshoot by the end of the month.

In Beauce, 61 millimeters of rain had already been recorded as of May 21, for a monthly normal of around 87 millimeters.

A new system on its way to Quebec

Mr. Tomlinson acknowledges: "It's been a very wet spring," and it's not time to breathe. A new weather system is on its way to Quebec.

"Unfortunately, in terms of precipitation, we have a system that is currently moving into southern Ontario and will affect Quebec starting tomorrow," he said. "And the system will, in essence, hang around southern Quebec for a few days, so for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday."

And hold on tight, because snowflakes could even make a surprise appearance in the north of the province.

"We're talking about areas north of Val-d'Or, much closer to James Bay, and areas where it can sometimes snow in May," the meteorologist said.

Better for the first week of June

That said, rain doesn't necessarily mean cold. Thanks to an abnormal heat wave last week, average temperatures in southern Quebec remain above normal for the month.

"Because of the unusually warm weather we had last week, we're actually above normal for the month for southern Quebec," Tomlinson said. "So it's really this week, where we've had temperatures 6 to 7 degrees below normal, that's really unusual."

But there is still hope for sun lovers as the mercury is expected to rise from the first week of June.

"For the first week of June, at least, the good news is that it looks like temperatures will return much more to normal temperatures, as well as for the last few days of [May]. And then, potentially for the first week of June, we could have more typical highs, so between 20 and 25 degrees," concluded Mr. Tomlinson.