Quebec deep freeze not expected to let up any time soon

Montreal and the rest of the province has been under a deep freeze for much of 2015, and a weather expert says the bone-chilling weather shows no signs of relenting.

McGill University professor John Gyakum said while the province hasn't had many days of record-breaking cold, the frequent sub-zero temperatures have made this winter unique.

“I think what's prominent about this winter is the fact that we've had such a persistently cold winter,” Gyakum told CBC Montreal’s Daybreak.

“Since the beginning of January we've had only three days with spikes of just above zero and that is rather unprecedented."

Gyakum made the comments as Montrealers bundled up for another cold day.

Monday's high was expected to be -15 C with a wind chill of -35 C. The low was forecast as -20 C.

Those hoping for a late February thaw will likely be disappointed.

It looks like Montreal will remain well below zero for most of the remainder of the month, Gyakum said.

He said a cold pattern has been hovering over the eastern part of the country and it's not clear when that will change.

“We seem to be in a rather isolated region in terms of unusually cold weather,” he said.

“The rest of the world is in fact warmer than average.”