Almost a quarter of Montreal's snow removal completed as freezing rain threatens city

Montreal snow removal workers have scooped up about 23 per cent of the fluffy white stuff as freezing rain threatens to hit the city on Tuesday.

"There is a rollercoaster forecast this week," said city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin. "You will need your scraper. You will also need an umbrella and our crews will have to adjust their operation regarding the freezing rain."

• READ MORE: Freezing rain, more snow expected for southwestern Quebec

Almost 2,200 snow removal vehicles are taking part in loading operations to clear the approximately 10,000 kilometres of streets, sidewalks and bicycle paths in Montreal.

According to Info-Neige, the boroughs that have completed the most snow removal so far are Lachine (52 per cent), Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension (43 per cent) and Outremont (41 per cent).

The slowest are Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles (seven per cent), LaSalle (10 per cent) and Pierrefonds-Roxboro (11 per cent).

The snow removal operation is expected to be completed by the end of the day Thursday.

Sabourin reminds Montrealers that there are 7,842 free parking spaces, mostly available at night, for anyone who needs to store their car somewhere during the operation.