Montrealers are expected to dig out of up to 25 centimetres of snow Friday after a much stronger snowstorm than anticipated hit the city Thursday, snarling traffic and delaying dozens of flights at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport.
Environment Canada, meanwhile, is forecasting more snow Friday and Saturday as the city’s snowplow operators fan out to clear 10,000 kilometres of roads and sidewalks.
The snow-clearing operation will begin at 7 p.m. Friday and pause 24 hours later on New Year’s Eve. The snow clearing will resume at 7 a.m. Monday and is expected to wrap up on Jan. 4, city official Linda Boutin said.
There will be no snow clearing on Sunday, New Year’s Day, to give workers a break under the law, Boutin explained.
“We’re confident we will be able to complete all the snow clearing by Wednesday,” she added, noting that 2,200 vehicles will take part in the operation.
Montreal police are urging motorists to adapt their driving habits to the snowy conditions on the road, especially given that some streets had icy patches before Thursday’s snowstorm.
The Sûreté du Québec reported several dozen vehicle accidents across the province Thursday, with some cars spinning off highways, Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said.
Environment Canada had forecast initially that Montreal would be blanketed by 10 centimetres of snow on Thursday. But by 5 p.m., 18 centimetres had accumulated at Environment Canada’s weather station at Place Bonaventure downtown.
Bruno Marquis, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, predicted as much as 25 centimetres of snow for Montreal by Friday. However, the agency lifted its snowfall warning just before 9 p.m. Thursday as the snow stopped falling.
“This is a normal snowstorm for this time of the year,” Marquis said. “It wasn’t normal last year. It was very mild.”
Environment Canada is forecasting another two centimetres of snow Friday, along with periods of snow or rain on Saturday.
Snow clearing should prove a challenge at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, which is bracing for its busiest day of the year Friday. About 60,000 travellers are expected to pass through the airport in a single day, either departing on or arriving from domestic and international flights.
However, the total number of travellers will not be known for another month, said Stéphanie Lepage, a spokesperson for the Aéroports de Montréal.
Although travellers complained of long lineups at Canada Customs last summer, Lepage said that’s not the case during the Christmas holidays. During the summer, most travellers tended to arrive in Montreal in the afternoon from Europe. By comparison, travellers during the Christmas holidays usually arrive at the airport at different hours.
Source: Montreal Gazette
By:AARON DERFEL
