The Quebec winter has not had its last word, as evidenced by snowfall in greater Montreal this weekend, but rainy skies await citizens in the coming days.
• Read more: 20 to 30 cm of snow in Quebec: Winter is not over yet
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• Read more: A good day to stay home: A cocktail of tumultuous weather will hit Quebec on Sunday
“In general we had very dry winter months, with less precipitation than normal,” agrees MétéoMédia's meteorologist Nicolas Lessard. Despite the mild weather, we are surprised by a little late storm.
On Sunday morning, Montrealers awoke to a white carpet of streets and green spaces.
After heavy rain Saturday evening, different sections of Greater Montreal received more or less 10 centimeters of snow, be it Sainte-Julie, on the South Shore, or Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, on the North Shore.
Snow plowing is active on the streets of downtown Montreal.
Mario Beauregard/Agence QMI
Some had enough to get their shovels out again, while families and outdoor enthusiasts took the opportunity to spend time outdoors.
However, the snow had visibly melted and turned to slush, with daytime temperatures hovering around 2°C. Environment Canada also reported light drizzle.
“It's a snowman, very sticky. The water content is very high because the mercury was so close to freezing,” explains Nicolas Lessard.
Mario Beauregard/Agence QMI
breakdowns
This tumultuous weather cocktail is not without consequences. About 101,000 Hydro-Québec customers experienced a power outage around 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
By late afternoon, Montreal was spared, but more than 7,400 customers were affected in the Lanaudière and Laurentides regions.
“We are currently counting the work of 215 teams spread across various affected areas. Conditions on the ground are difficult. Access to some secondary roads is difficult,” the state-owned firm wrote on X Platform.
Fortunately, the rainfall did not cause much inconvenience to the pedestrians. No specific increase in falls was noted by Urgences-santé, it was pointed out Newspaper.
more rain
Citizens can quickly return to slightly warmer weather. The mercury is expected to touch 10°C this week.
“Temperatures of 5, 6, 7 degrees Celsius have already been observed in March,” underlines Nicolas Lessard. This confirms that the winter was unusually mild.
“Between now and next Sunday we have two, three systems that will bring mostly rain and a little snow to parts of the north,” the meteorologist argued.
