Another round of freezing rain for Montreal

An icy landscape very early Thursday morning on Ile Perrot. Freezing rain coated everything with up to 10mm of ice. Roads and sidewalks on Ile Perrot and across the region were treacherous in many cases. Walking for nearly impossible. Thankfully the main highways were in decent shape for the morning commute. (Valley Weather Photo)

Freezing rain warnings have been issued once again for eastern Ontario and southern Quebec for overnight into Friday morning. 

Low pressure will move along a frontal boundary south of Montreal across central New York state, delivering another push of moisture and warm air aloft. Cold air will remain once again at the surface here in the St. Lawrence Valley, resulting in another 5-10mm of freezing rain on Friday. Precipitation will begin before the morning commute in Montreal, lasting through the morning hours, before mixing with and changing to snow midday. Temperatures will drop below freezing tonight, down to -5C (25F), rising close to the freezing point on Friday, before slightly colder air arrives in the afternoon. Snowfall amounts will generally be around 5cm for most locations. Snow on top of ice will make for dangerous walking and driving.

We caught a break Thursday afternoon as the temperature nudged above the freezing point to 1.6C (35F) here on Ile Perrot, allowing some of the ice to melt off trees and power lines. While there were only isolated outages on Thursday, the threat will rise Friday in some regions, due to the cumulative weight of the ice from both storms.

Last evening's storm dumped between 5-10mm of freezing rain across the region, leaving streets and sidewalks covered in thick ice. Main roads in Montreal recovered for the morning commute, but it was a different story in the suburbs and rural regions. As a result, many off-island schools were closed for the day.

There were a number of accidents overnight, especially along the Montreal to Brockville, Highway 20/401 corridor. The saving grace was that the precipitation ended before the morning commute Thursday morning, but this will not be the case with the next system.