Ice and snow create miserable January weather in Montreal

Heavy snow, freezing rain and rain have made a mess of Montreal roads this week. The latest problem on Thursday morning was massive amounts of standing water. Drivers had to negotiate the massive puddles on Cote-Vertu in Saint Laurent, shown above. Those giant lakes will freeze solid tonight as temperatures drop back below freezing. (Valley Weather Photo)

The second storm in less than a week has left Montreal under a layer of snow, ice and water. On Wednesday, 15cm of snow fell at Trudeau Airport, with over 20cm south of the St Lawrence from Ile Perrot to Cornwall. That brings the weekly accumulations up to 40 to 50cm of snow. On top of that, nearly 15mm of rain and freezing rain has fallen overnight. The snow on Wednesday created long commute times across the region as snow covered icy roads resulted in hundreds of accidents. Several roads were closed for a time, including Highway 20 near St. Zotique after two transports collided.

A dump truck took out a hydro pole in Pierrefonds early Thursday morning. Freezing rain and rain on top of 40cm of snow this week, have left roads in very poor condition. Motorists have had to deal with hundreds of accidents and many road closures. (Radio Canada Photo)

The snow changed to freezing rain overnight in southern Quebec, coating trees and power lines. Rain is falling this morning in Montreal, with the temperature just above freezing at 0.5C (33F). The heavy rain and melting snow has produced massive amounts of standing water, with flooding reported in many sections of the city. Freezing rain is still falling north of the city. The ice has created problems with the Hydro Quebec power grid, with over 20,000 customers in the dark from Montreal north into the Laurentians. The poor weather has also forced the cancelation of classes for most students across southern Quebec on Thursday. Most major school boards on the Island of Montreal have given students and staff the day off.

Colder weather returns
A cold front will cross metro Montreal this afternoon, changing any rain over to snow as the temperature drops below freezing. All this standing water will freeze solid overnight, creating new problems on area roads. The overnight low in Montreal will be a chilly -10C (14F), with a high on Friday of -5C (23F). The weather will remain windy and colder into the weekend, with scattered flurries. There is the chance for another storm early next week, but we will recover form this week first before we go into more details.