Quebecers were able to get a taste of the storm that is expected to hit the province on Friday morning with a few centimeters of snow that accumulated in some areas during the day Thursday.
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The Montreal region thus received three to four centimeters of snow from a system that is not, however, directly linked to the storm coming from Colorado.
After a short respite in the early evening, 10 to 15 centimeters are expected in the middle of the night. Another ten additional centimeters must be added during the day on Friday before ending in the afternoon.
“It should be completely over to finish the day, which will allow a less problematic return home because there will be no snowfall,” explained Simon Legault, meteorologist at Environment Canada.
Other warnings were issued by the federal agency for several sectors located along the St. Lawrence valley, where gusts could reach 50 to 60 km / h, or even more in the Quebec region.
“It’s a big snowfall, but not out of the ordinary like what we saw on December 23 before the holidays with the big winds, it’s really more classic,” said Mr. Legault.
In general, 15 to 25 centimeters are expected in the province, but Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent could experience larger accumulations of up to 30 centimeters, as can Charlevoix.
The regions of Estrie and Montérégie will not escape the freezing rain. “Fortunately there will have been snow before, so it will still limit the fact of being very slippery”, underlined the meteorologist.
Residents of Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and Côte-Nord will be able to breathe a little after the last holiday storm since they will not be on the path of the one expected on Friday.
As of Thursday evening, several school boards had not yet planned to close their schools for the next day, but remained on standby and informed that any changes would be communicated around 6 a.m. The Center de services scolaire des Navigateurs, between Leclercville and Lévis, has decided not to open its schools.
How to adapt your driving in the storm?
Not everyone has the luxury of being able to telecommute for that last day at the office of the week. Here are some tips to remember before hitting the road in the storm, according to David Marcille, spokesperson for CAA-Quebec.
– Only get behind the wheel if you have no way to delay your trips until later
– Prepare your vehicle well by taking the time to de-ice it and remove the snow
– Keep your foot light on the pedal: “no sudden braking or acceleration”
– Keep a good six seconds distance from the car in front of us
– Always look where you want to go and not where the car is heading
– Don’t panic