More wintry weather on the way - thousands without power across southern Quebec

Trees and power lines strain under the weight of ice in Senneville on Thursday morning. (Valley Weather)

Many schools are closed for a second day across southern Quebec, the result of strong winds, icy conditions and widespread power outages. Temperatures nudged above the freezing mark overnight, allowing for some of the more than 13mm of freezing rain to melt in parts of the Montréal region.

The freezing rain was replaced by strong west winds, at times over 70km/h. That has played havoc with the power grid, already compromised by ice and tree branches coming in contact. As of 9:30am, Hydro-Québec is reporting 212,000 customers without power, 757 separate breaks in the system. That includes 28,000 on the Island of Montréal and 85,000 in the Montérégie. As with most large power interruptions, the utility is not offering restoration times, but does say they have 900 crews in the field, close to 2000 workers.

Hydro-Québec is responding to more than 700 breaks in the system Thursday morning, with 2000 workers. Power is out to more than 208,000 customers. (Hydro-Québec)

The storm itself is off to our east after dumping 15-25mm of freezing rain in most locations. Montreal had less than forecast, but it was enough to create problems on the road, at the airport and as mentioned with Hydro. A swath of heavier freezing rain impacted the Ottawa Valley and the lower Laurentians. Further north heavy snow and ice pellets fell. Thunder and lightning even occurred with the freezing rain during the midday hours in Montréal.

For Thursday, strong winds will continue to be a problem along with scattered snow showers as a cold front crosses the region. Our high temperature for the day has been reached, with the mercury lowering to -3C (27F) by the end of the day, and -8C (18F) overnight.

Thankfully less freezing rain occurred in Montreal than forecast, with amounts ranging from 12 to 25mm. This amount was still enough to cause problems with the power grid. The track of the storm wobbled a little to the northwest, allowing for less precipitation in Montreal and a later start to the precipitation. (Valley Weather)

MORE SNOW!

On Friday, clouds will increase ahead of our next storm system. More wintry weather is on tap as an Alberta Clipper skirts along the St. Lawrence Valley Saturday. Snow will develop overnight Friday and continue into Saturday, with 5-10cm expected for Montreal. Gusty winds will accompany the snow, creating areas of blowing snow. We get a brief break in the weather Sunday, before a much larger and complicated storm takes aim at us late Sunday into Monday. This storm will bring with it much warmer temperatures, with a messy mix of precipitation changing to rain across southern Québec. More on that in future posts.

Stay safe today as roads and sidewalks are slippery and ice is falling from trees and structures.