Thursday and Friday were marked by freezing rain and heavy snowfall in parts of Quebec, which caused numerous power outages on Friday morning. But the weather promises to be much milder this weekend, across the province.
Several sectors from Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean to Gaspésie are still subject to snow warnings from Environment Canada. However, the precipitation is expected to dissipate by Saturday morning and give way to sunny rays and clear skies in almost all regions of Quebec. Saturday afternoon, a maximum of -4°C is expected in Montreal.
The National Capital remains the only region of the province to be targeted by a winter storm warning for Friday. About 5 centimeters of snow could fall in the area by Friday evening.
However, road conditions remain relatively good there, as well as in the province as a whole, apart from a few warnings of “reduced visibility” on certain roads, notably roads 175 and 381 which cross the Réserve faunique des Laurentides, road 132 in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, and Route 138 on the North Shore.
Environment Canada is also forecasting temperatures above seasonal norms as well as temperature spikes above the freezing point all next week in Montreal. Temperatures of 8°C are forecast for Thursday with a chance of showers.
Power outages and impractical sports
More than 18,000 Hydro-Quebec customers were without power Friday morning due to freezing rain and snow that had fallen since Thursday evening. The most affected regions were the Laurentians, Lanaudière, Montérégie, and Centre-du-Québec.
Friday, around 3:30 p.m., most customers were restored, while 2,000 customers remained without electricity. Estrie was the most affected region with 680 customers out of order.
Moreover, due to the exceptionally high temperature on Friday (2°C in the afternoon in Montreal), the practice of many winter sports could remain more difficult in the coming days. The organization Les amis de la montagne notes, for example, that all winter activities on Mount Royal, including skating, skiing and snowshoeing, are “impracticable”, except for walking, which remains “difficult” on the Olmstead Road.