A BITTER TASTE OF WINTER
Cleanup could take several days
ARE YOU SURE THAT’S OUR CAR? Mirna Najjar playfully flings snow on her husband, John Panagopoulos, as they dig out on Thompson St. in St-Laurent after Montrealers woke up to about 30 centimetres of snow that fell overnight Saturday and through Sunday. Road conditions were treacherous and Trudeau airport experienced numerous delays and cancellations.
Montreal was treated to a wintry double-whammy over the weekend, with temperatures plunging on Saturday and then rising again just in time for Mother Nature to dump a foot of snow on us.
Residents had to deal with everything from broken water mains to multi-car pileups as the first icy blast hit the city and set the stage for the long, cold months ahead.
A total of 30 centimetres of snow fell on Montreal, Laval and the surrounding regions between late Saturday and late Sunday, leading to treacherous road conditions. Visibility along the highways in and around Montreal (especially along Highway 40 near Trois-Rivières and Highway 20 near Drummondville) was practically nil for much of Sunday morning. One of the first major accidents of the day occurred on Highway 40 in Montreal just before noon. About 13 vehicles were reportedly involved, and the pileup forced provincial police to close all westbound lanes near Marien Ave. for over an hour. There were no reports of serious injuries. In Quebec City, a similar multivehicle accident on Highway 440 sent seven people to the hospital, three of them in serious condition.
The deadline for installation of winter tires on all vehicles in Quebec passed on Saturday, and anyone caught driving without them may now be subject to a $300 fine.
At Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, there were numerous delays and cancellations on Sunday as the stormy weather passed slowly through Quebec on its way to the Maritimes. Via Rail, however, reported its train service to and from Montreal had not been affected by the storm.
According to the city of Montreal, salting and cleanup operations began almost as soon as the first dusting of snow was on the ground. Snowplows and city workers fanned out across the island before sunrise Sunday, attempting to clear major thoroughfares and sidewalks even as the flurries continued to fall. At 11 a.m., the city issued a release explaining it had deployed about 1,000 snow-clearing machines and that the drivers were instructed to prioritize streets along bus routes, near métro stations and hospitals. More workers and vehicles were to be brought in on Sunday night and into Monday morning to continue the snow-removal efforts as Montrealers got back to work, but it could be several days before the operation is complete.
Early Sunday afternoon, Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre took to Twitter to announce he was touring the city to monitor the cleanup, and encouraged residents to let him know if they spotted any trouble related to either the storm or the municipality’s response to it.
Sunday’s snowfall came on the heels of a dry, but frigid, 24 hours in Montreal that saw temperatures dip to minus 22 Celsius (minus 32C with the wind-chill factor). Motorists needing a boost to get their cars started were already flooding the Canadian Automobile Association with distress calls as early as 10 a.m. on Saturday and a broken water main in the heart of Plateau Mont Royal sent a river of icy water flooding the streets.
By Sunday morning, the mercury had risen to minus 12, but the reprieve is expected to be brief. Environment Canada is predicting a return to blistering cold with a low of minus 20 on Tuesday.