Icy commute for Montreal - power out to over 30,000

Crews have been busy overnight plowing away the 10mm of ice and sleet that fell across the Montreal region. A thin icy glaze covers trees, cars and sidewalks. The messy mix fell in the city, while south and west of the island, mostly freezing rain occurred overnight. Over 29,000 Hydro-Québec clients are without power across the Montérégie Thursday morning. (Valley Weather Photo)

Light freezing drizzle continues to fall in Montreal early Thursday morning, after close to 10mm of ice and sleet accumulated overnight. Main roads are in good condition, with plowing and salting taking place. Residential roads, parking lots and sidewalks are extremely slippery with a crust of ice and snow.

The heaviest freezing rain has fallen where we expected it to, from Ile Perrot south and west to the US border and into extreme eastern Ontario. Hydro-Québec is reporting over 30,000 customers without power as of 6am, the majority of those, over 29,000 in the Montérégie, south of Montreal.

The bulk of the precipitation is now over, and the freezing rain warning should expire shortly. The balance of the day will be cloudy, with scattered flurries or freezing drizzle, and gusty northeast winds up to 40km/h. The high will be near 0C (32F). Flurries persist into the overnight and Friday, with lows of -3C (27F) and the high once again Friday near the freezing point.