(QUEBEC) Christmas break will arrive earlier than expected for thousands of students across the province, as most schools across the province will be closed on Friday due to the looming storm.
As a preventive measure, the Montreal school service center decided to close all of its establishments on Friday. No course or distance learning is planned for all primary, secondary and adult students.
This is also the case for school service centers Marguerite-Bourgeoys and Pointe-de-l’Île.
In Montreal, the population is asked to avoid going out on Friday, since municipal maintenance teams expect a “great challenge” to succeed in keeping the streets and sidewalks passable for vehicles and pedestrians, due to of the expected weather cocktail.
“It’s special, because we’re going to experience two seasons in 24 hours, with large amounts of precipitation, both snow and rain,” said Philippe Sabourin, spokesperson for the City of Montreal, in a telephone interview. . “It’s the mix that makes the challenge bigger. »
He reminds us that we expect about twenty centimeters of snow, and up to 40 millimeters of rain. Municipal employees will therefore first have to push the snow to clear the streets, but then clear the catch basins so that the rain can drain into the storm sewers.
Spreading salt will probably be unnecessary in the first hours of the storm, since the rain will then dilute everything. We are therefore preparing to spread fine gravel at the beginning, saving the salt for later, when the temperatures drop again, which could transform streets and sidewalks into skating rinks.
From Lac-Saint-Jean, to Abitibi, via the Laurentians, Quebec and the Outaouais, many school service centers decided Thursday to close their establishments on Friday.
The Laurentides school service center announced shortly before 4 p.m. that there would be no classes in its schools. “According to forecasts, the epicenter of part of the storm will be in our territory. We therefore act by prevention, for the safety of all our students and staff. More than 40 cm of snow are expected in places, as well as gusts of wind of up to 100 km / h. The potential for dangerousness being high and knowing the reality of our territory, we have taken the decision to close the entire CSSL tomorrow day and evening, ”indicates the director general of the center, Sébastien Tardif, in a message sent to parents and students.
In Quebec, the Première-Seigneuries school service center, which has nearly 30,000 students, will close its establishments given “the exceptional situation”. The Portneuf school service center made the same decision. The Découvertes school service center must communicate its choice on Friday morning.
In Lac-Saint-Jean, the Pays-des-Bleuets and Lac-Saint-Jean school service centers have decided to close their establishments. This is also the case elsewhere in the province, notably at the school service centers of Portages-de-l’Outaouais, Draveurs and Coeur-des-Vallées (Outaouais), as well as at the Chemin- du-Roy (Mauritius).
The City of Quebec is on the alert. Mayor Bruno Marchand wanted to reassure citizens on Thursday. “The City is ready. The crisis unit is activated and ready to take care of the citizens of Quebec,” noted the mayor of Quebec.
In particular, the City has tripled its urban forestry guard team, anticipating several broken branches. The weather forecast predicts gusts of 80 km / h on Friday evening in the capital. The authorities are also worried about the succession of snow then rain, followed by a cooling. This cocktail could transform the pavements into a skating rink.
“The worst scenario would be 25-30 mm of snow then 20-25 mm of rain and after a significant cooling,” notes Éric Grondin, director of the snow removal management division at the City of Quebec.
Tuck in your mirrors, screw up your tempos
The mayor calls on citizens to cooperate, in particular by parking their cars in their private parking lots or in those provided by the city during snow removal operations.
The City is also asking motorists to lower their mirrors to allow machinery to circulate. She also suggests “hanging up temporary shelters”, like Tempo shelters.
“We need citizens. These are not usual conditions due to the holiday, weekend. We want people to be able to move around, to meet. It will be Christmas Eve,” noted Mayor Marchand.
The City also asks citizens to arm themselves with candles, batteries and woolen blankets in the event of power outages.
– With Lea Carrier, The Press