Trip to Quebec end of June?

June 8, 2023 5:46 AM

We have a long planned shot trip via car to Quebec (City) for the Jazz festival the last few days of June and into July. It’s hard to get good information on the expected situation there in three weeks–naturally enough. Should we just cancel and plan to go some other time?
posted by nothing.especially.clever to Travel & Transportation around Quebec, QC (5 answers total)

Best answer: There's no way to be certain, because weather conditions can change. But these wildfires are not a normal part of a Quebec summer!

Also, Quebec City is in a fortunate position vis-à-vis the river – it almost has a maritime feel on a nice summer day, very airy and bright up on its cliff. And it's an area that's been urbanized for centuries. No forest fire could get close.

New York City caught the worst of the smoke. Montreal was hazy and smelled like a campfire for a couple of days but we didn't have anything as bad as the conditions in New York, and I gather the same applied to Quebec City.

I wouldn't cancel.
posted by zadcat at 6:29 AM on June 8, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I would definitely plan to travel as intended in late June/early July. If you have things booked that you'd need to cancel (etc) I'd check in with the weather/smoke/fire etc in the middle of next week and make a final decision then.

FWIW I am in Toronto and we are experiencing very poor air quality currently, but the situation is already improving and eastern Quebec (where Quebec City is) has gotten some rain, with more in the forecast.
posted by kate blank at 6:32 AM on June 8, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks!
posted by nothing.especially.clever at 7:25 AM on June 8, 2023

Check the Long-Range Weather; looks like there will be rain, which would be a huge help for fires and air quality.
posted by theora55 at 8:36 AM on June 8, 2023

Western Quebec has potential for rain in the week starting June 11. However, fire danger will be high in Ontario and across much of the east in coming week so might be some more pain before any relief.
posted by piyushnz at 6:37 AM on June 9, 2023