Article content
The landscape may have been white, but for hundreds of thousands of Quebecers the outlook was dark Thursday morning as a major snowfall knocked out power to more than 274,000 Quebec households, more than 96,000 of them in Montreal.
The blackouts occurred overnight as 15 to 25 centimetres of snow, accompanied by gusts of wind, swept the south of the province. The heavy snow also weighed on tree branches in rural areas, causing them to fall and break power lines and contribute to a total of 879 outages by 7 a.m.
Article content
A total of 20 cm is expected to fall in the Montreal area by the end of the day.
As of 7 a.m., a total of 287,027 customers were without power in Quebec, with Montreal having the largest share of outages (97,131) followed by the Laurentians (83,663) and the Montérégie (32,773).
In Laval, 21,633 homes and businesses were in the dark, while 17,000 homes in the Lanaudière region were without power.
In a message on its website, Hydro-Québec warned customers that “service restoration times shown on the (outages) map are approximate, and may vary due to the number of outages and the kind of damage.”
The Lester B. Pearson School Board, Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board and English Montreal School Board announced that all classes and centres are closed for the day because of the snow. Staff are not required to report to work.
Departures from Trudeau airport were slightly affected by the weather Thursday morning, however many arrivals were delayed and travellers are urged to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
Environment Canada meteorologist Michèle Fleury said Wednesday that temperatures are expected hover around the freezing mark on Thursday. “It will be a heavy snow … a bit like slush.”
The morning commute was expected to be challenging because of road conditions that include slippery surfaces and hydroplaning because of water accumulation on highways. The issue is complicated further because snow tires have not been mandatory in Quebec since March 15.
Motorists who can avoid being on area highways this morning are urged to do so.
The story will be updated.
Recommended from Editorial
Share this article in your social network
