The sleet and freezing rain that have hit Quebec in the past few hours have caused power outages for some 21,000 Hydro-Quebec customers, particularly in Montérégie. Even if in some places, the road conditions were more difficult, no major accident was reported by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
“It’s like a weekend. We don’t have a lot of traffic on the road network. We have very few incidents to report,” said Christian Fortin, spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, on Thursday morning. “People are working from home and schools are closed. It helps. »
However, caution is still required on the roads. In the greater Montreal area, the roads are clear, although in Lanaudière and the Laurentians, the roads remain partially snow-covered, as in Quebec and Trois-Rivières. With the freezing rain having ceased in western Quebec, the ministry expects conditions to improve in the coming hours.
On the side of the SQ, no incident with serious injuries was recorded in the greater Montreal area on Thursday.
Breakdowns in Montérégie
The freezing precipitation, however, caused power outages for 21,141 Hydro-Quebec customers, mainly in Montérégie, where 20,576 residences were affected. “The majority of customers should have power back by the end of the day,” however assured Gabrielle Leblanc, spokesperson for Hydro-Québec. “We are not expecting any new weather event today. So there shouldn’t be any new failures added. »
For its part, Montreal was treated to more sleet than freezing rain, notes Philippe Sabourin, administrative spokesperson for the City of Montreal. The roads were not problematic, but as of Wednesday evening, the City began spreading abrasives on the sidewalks in anticipation of the expected precipitation. “The sleet didn’t stick to the sidewalks, which means that when the machinery passes, it is possible to remove the layer of snow,” explained Mr. Sabourin. “Pedestrians must however be extra vigilant,” he added, specifying that the City teams would focus on clearing the sidewalks during the afternoon.
A single incident, deemed minor, occurred Thursday morning when a truck hit a lamp post at the corner of boulevard Pie-IX and avenue Émile-Journault.