Rain and temperatures above freezing risk causing “several ice rinks to be unusable” between now and Christmas, regrets the City of Montreal. She promises that she will increase efforts in the coming days to move forward as quickly as possible.
“With rain and temperatures above freezing for the next two days, we will have to start from scratch to have the rinks ready in time for Christmas,” the press secretary in the mayor’s office said on Sunday. Philippe Massé, in response to our questions.
He maintains that the borough teams “will do their best to restart the rinks, but that their efforts will depend on the weather over the next week.”
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
However, as The Press reported on Saturday, the hope of a white Christmas risks melting like snow by Tuesday due to a major system which will move up the east coast of the United States, bringing 25 to 80 millimeters of rain to Quebec depending on the regions. From Montreal to Quebec, all along the St. Lawrence Valley, 30 to 50 millimeters of rain are forecast between Sunday evening and Monday evening.
By late Sunday evening, between 3 and 5 millimeters of rain had accumulated across the province, said Dominic Martel, meteorologist for Environment Canada. The rain was expected to intensify overnight and even more on Monday. The Charlevoix region, in particular, could receive up to 100 millimeters of water. Violent winds also whip the tip of Gaspésie and the Lower North Shore.
During this time, mercury will be very mild most of the time. In the mainland, for example, it will be 9 degrees Celsius on Monday, then zero on the thermometer the next day. The rain will then give way to sunshine from Wednesday, but still with relatively mild weather.
In short, “we can therefore imagine, as in Quebec, that several ice rinks will not be usable between now and the holiday break,” regrets Mr. Massé. He nevertheless points out that the ice rink at Esplanade Tranquille, in the Quartier des spectacles, which is refrigerated, is already open and will remain open to accommodate families.
” It’s discouraging ”
“Usually, we skate at this time, but the last two years, it’s difficult for the rink engineers,” laments Pierre-Luc Murphy. This Mirabelois has been preparing an ice rink in his backyard since 2018, for the enjoyment of his children and the neighborhood.
“It’s work, and we don’t dare look at the weather too much because it’s discouraging,” he emphasizes. This year, he left his rink about a week ago. It has been used three times. “At that time, they did not announce [la température] that they are announcing today,” he explains.
His 12-year-old son is particularly disappointed at no longer being able to skate, adds the father. A disappointment which adds to the idleness linked to the strike of teachers of the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE), since November 23.
Just like his home ice rink, Mirabel’s public ice rinks also risk being impassable due to the temperature. “With the rain, they are sure to be closed,” says Mr. Murphy.
Options despite everything
Last year too, the vast majority of Montreal’s 200 outdoor ice cream parlors were closed due to rain and mild weather during a good part of the holiday break. Maintaining exterior windows is becoming an increasing challenge with climate change. For several years, citizens have been asking the City to invest more in the refrigeration of outdoor skating rinks.
It is possible to follow the condition of municipal skating rinks on a daily basis on the City of Montreal website. For now, very few of them are still watered or even resurfaced. In fact, only those which are refrigerated or which benefit from a particular infrastructure are open, such as the “Bleu blanc rouge” rinks of the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation.
In Montreal, we find them in particular in Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Please note: the Lac aux Castors skating rink, on Mount Royal, will also be open for skating enthusiasts.
The City of Quebec also confirmed this weekend on a daily basis The sun that it would be difficult to open the rinks in time for Christmas.
Online, the City indicates that to open a safe skating rink, the outside temperature must be -15 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days and that ideally, sun and rain are rare, which will not be the case for another good time in the capital. In Montreal, ideally you need an accumulation of 10 centimeters of snow on the ground and temperatures below -5°C for three days.
Flood risks
Flooding is possible in places due to precipitation, warns Environment Canada. As of Sunday evening, the Quebec government’s flood water monitoring site did not indicate any overflow. The accumulations, however, risk melting the snow cover in certain regions, amplifying the quantities of water flowing into watercourses.