Updated yesterday at 10:23 p.m.
Road exits and closed lanes: the nearly 25 cm snowstorm that swept through Greater Montreal and the surrounding area on Friday caused its share of problems. Poor visibility due to blowing snow is the cause of several pileups, particularly on highways 40 and 20.
Friday, Greater Montreal was treated to a snowfall reaching 25 cm in places, said meteorologist Anna-Belle Filion, from Environment Canada. By early evening, the rain had ceased. The metropolitan area was the most affected, but the Laurentians also received snow, as did Ottawa, where 17 cm fell.
Saturday will be “beautiful and sunny”, says Mme Filion. But it will be cold, since the thermometer will indicate -15°C in the morning, with a wind chill of -26. The day will gradually warm up, with temperatures of -4°C in the afternoon.
“The next snow will be Sunday,” says Anna-Belle Filion. Precipitation will begin Saturday night and continue throughout the day. Greater Montreal could receive up to 4 cm.
A cold front that will fall on the province “could generate snow squalls”, however warns Mme Filion. Weather alerts will therefore be to be monitored for most of the province, as the amounts of snow could be greater, up to 10 cm. “When there are squalls, we are talking about heavy snowfall that quickly reduces visibility, but for a short time,” she explains.
Pile-ups and road trips
As a storm hit the metropolis and the surrounding area on Friday, road trips and three pileups took place. “There were no major injuries,” said Catherine Bernard, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
It was in the early morning that a dozen cars and nearly ten heavy goods vehicles crashed on Highway 20 East, near Les Cèdres, in Montérégie. A few hours later, about thirty vehicles were caught in a pile-up on Highway 40 West in Lanoraie in Lanaudière. “There were seven minor injuries,” said Catherine Bernard.
In the middle of the day, on Highway 40 eastbound, seven cars collided near Rigaud. By early evening, the lanes closed due to these pileups were all reopened, confirmed the spokesperson.