MONTREAL -- Looks like Thursday's morning commute won't be as bad as first forecasted: Environment Canada has dropped a warning about snow and blowing snow during the morning rush hour.
An initial weather statement had warned of hazardous conditions, and while we're expecting to see snow push in overnight, it shouldn't be cause for concern.
"Montreal, Laval and areas north of the St-Lawrence have been dropped from the special weather statement. It looks like we will be seeing 5-10 of snow, but Montreal more likely to see about 5-7 centimetres in terms of accumulation," said CTV News Montreal weather specialist Lori Graham.
Light snow pushes in around midnight and will continue through the morning rush hour.
Graham said it's still important to be vigilant on the roads.
"We are looking at windy conditions, especially off-island tomorrow, so you could run into some blowing snow as well," she said.
Areas south of the St-Lawrence River could be looking at 10 to 15 centimetres of snow, the heaviest in the region.
We're not out of the wood yet, though: there's more snow on the way this weekend:
"There could potentially be another 10-15 centimetres for southwestern Quebec," said Graham.
The mild weather won't last. Temperatures are expected to drop overnight Thursday into Friday with a low of -19 Celsius. It'll stay cold for a few days – about -12 during the day and -20 overnight for the next five days or so.
SMOG WARNING
In the meantime, a smog warning is also currently in effect until Thursday morning. The maximum air quality health index is at seven, or high risk, on Wednesday and is expected to drop to three, or low risk, on Thursday.
High concentrations of pollutants are expected to persist overnight, which could be harmful to people with respiratory conditions or heart disease. Anyone with these conditions should avoid outdoor exercise until the smog warning is lifted.
