Motorists should celebrate Christmas at home and avoid taking the road due to a major winter storm that has been sweeping across Quebec since Thursday evening.
Snow, strong winds, torrential rains, a whole weather cocktail invites itself on this Christmas Eve as if to play the spoilsports, while Quebecers hoped to wake up without health restrictions linked to COVID-19.
In Greater Montreal, the sometimes heavy snow will change to rain on Friday morning with a risk of freezing rain under rising mercury, all combined with strong winds with gusts of 80 km/h in the afternoon.
15 to 20 centimeters of snow are expected from Thursday evening to Friday morning, Environment Canada said, adding that the rapid accumulation of snow will make travel on the roads difficult.
In addition to the weather cocktail, strong winds will also blow in several sectors elsewhere in the province, which could cause power cuts, anticipating a risk of spending Christmas in the dark.
Caution on the roads
Despite the clearing of roads in Montreal, road conditions are difficult and could even get worse given the intensity of the precipitation, anticipated by the federal agency.
While the loading of the snow from the first storm is almost complete, the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, called on the population to be careful by avoiding any non-essential travel as much as possible.
“We are preparing for a second broadside which will be mixed with rain in Montreal. This storm could make travel difficult. Be careful,” Mayor Plante tweeted.
Quebec 511 reported during the night from Thursday to Friday some inconvenience on certain highways with lane closures, but without major impact on traffic, which will not be the case when the storm increases during the day of Friday.