Many schools across Quebec have cancelled classes and the public has been asked to avoid non-essential travel, as snow-clearing operations continue during blizzard conditions.
Environment Canada issued a blowing snow advisory for Montreal along with the St. Lawrence Valley, the Laurentians, the Eastern Townships and the Beauce.
Winds of 60 to 90 kilometres per hour are causing reduced to near-zero visibility and widespread blowing snow, according to Environment Canada, meaning there could be poor visibility across up to 800 metres for at least three hours.
The weather resulted in 226 flight cancellations out of Montreal’s international airport on Sunday. As of 9:30 a.m. on Monday, 94 flights of 500 at Trudeau airport were cancelled.
The storm dropped about 40 centimetres of snow on Laval, 39 centimetres on Montreal and up to 35 centimetres in the Eastern Townships as of 1 a.m. Monday. In Montreal, snow is expected to continue into the morning, making travel hazardous.
English school boards and French-language school service centres in the Greater Montreal area announced that classes would be cancelled at primary and high schools on Monday due to snow.
However, Quebec City schools operated by the Centre de services scolaire de la Capitale will be open and maintain regular activities today despite the blowing snow advisory, according to a news statement published early Monday morning.
The City of Montreal has asked residents to work from home on Monday, if possible, and leave their houses only for essential travel and use public transportation.
Tips on how to ride out the blizzard, including making sure emergency exits around dwellings are cleared, are available on the City of Montreal website.
The back-to-back major snow dumps in Quebec have made life difficult for commuters. But for avid skiers and winter sports enthusiasts, the heavy snowfall was great news.
With snow removal operations on Montreal streets resuming, drivers should look out for no parking signs and move their cars accordingly, said city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin.
But clearing sidewalks will have to wait, Sabourin said, because there is “is no way our little trucks will have access.”
“The snow will have to be blown away by the blower so we’re doing our best to go as fast as we can,” he told CBC Montreal’s Daybreak host Sean Henry on Monday.
He added that the clean-up will take more than a week.
“We will have 3,000 workers, but of course it will be a long journey. We’ll need eight days minimum.”
He also urged Montrealers to avoid dumping their garbage directly in piles of snow as it could damage snowblowers and slow down city crews.
If possible, residents should wait until next week to take out garbage bins to the curb, he said.
