Many Quebecers are likely to spend Christmas without power as a major winter storm hits Quebec and Ontario, causing numerous power outages, road closures, multiple vehicle collisions and airport delays and cancellations.
At a news conference late Friday afternoon, Hydro-Quebec executive vice-president Éric Filion said it was "difficult to give a recovery time for customers who no longer have power," adding that Hydro-Quebec aims to "reconnect the majority of customers by Sunday evening."
However, he added that, unfortunately, some customers will not have power until Monday or Tuesday.
Hydro-Quebec reported that about 378,000 of its customers were without power around 12:45 a.m. Saturday. The regions most affected are the Capitale-Nationale, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Montérégie, Bas-Saint-Laurent, Mauricie and Côte-Nord.
"It is important to mention that the weather event is still ongoing, so new outages are occurring, and we are obviously working as quickly as possible, but always with a concern for the safety of our employees, but also for the public," said Hyrdro-Quebec's vice-president.
"Obviously, there is a lot of snow and rain, heavy snow that has fallen on the vegetation and on our electrical wires, which causes outages. We also have strong winds, gusts of more than 100 km per hour," said Eric Filion.
On Friday, 1,100 workers were on the ground across the province.
"We also have support teams, including logistics, accommodation, food for our workers and customer service teams and our communication teams, so I would like to thank them for their professionalism," added Filion.
Environment Canada has issued weather warnings for much of Ontario and Quebec for heavy snow, high winds and freezing rain.
"This is a very strong storm, one of the strongest in a long time," said Environment Canada meteorologist Simon Legault.
"We've seen everything the Americans have experienced in the last few days," and "the same weather phenomenon that caused this is now having consequences here," said Legault.
ROADS CLOSED
Transport Quebec spokesperson Alexandre Vigneault said in the early afternoon that roads in the Capitale-Nationale and Abitibi regions were particularly affected by the weather.
"If you look at the Abitibi side, 117 in La Verendrye Park, it's snowed in all the way, and visibility is reduced in many places, so it can cause some problems," he said.
Highways 113 and 177, linking Abitibi to Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, were closed Friday afternoon, as well as 175 and 169 in the Laurentian Wildlife Reserve, and visibility was zero on Highway 138 along the river near Quebec City.
Transport Quebec advises people to download the Quebec 511 application to stay informed of current events on the road network.
Due to the storm, Operation Nez Rouge cancelled its drive-home services in these areas: Alma, Argenteuil, Joliette in Lanaudière, Mont-Laurier, Pays-d'en-Haut, Quebec City, Roberval, Shawinigan.
HIGH WINDS, FLOODING IN QUEBEC CITY
In the Quebec City area, total snow accumulations "could approach 50 centimetres in mountainous terrain," Environment Canada said.
According to the Public Security flood monitoring site, the St. Lawrence River exceeded the minor flood level at the Port of Quebec on Friday and reached the major level by late afternoon.
"At the peak of the high tide around 6 p.m., the station in Old Quebec broke a record for high water levels dating back to 1931 (7.1 m)! The new record now stands at 7.157m," Environment Canada said on Twitter on Friday.
In the evening, Quebec City's public security department said it had received more than "600 calls of the dangerous structure type" and "more than 230 calls of the electrical danger type".
In Quebec City, three times as many 911 calls were received as the daily average. In particular, there were 18 calls for road accidents, but no one was seriously injured.
ICY ROADS IN MONTREAL, SNOW IN THE 450
Environment Canada reported that in the Montreal area, "temperatures are expected to drop rapidly."
As a result, "surfaces such as roads, streets, pavements and car parks could become icy and slippery. There could be significant impacts on rush hour traffic in urban areas."
According to Environment Canada, the Montérégie, Laurentian and Lanaudière regions had already received 30 centimetres of snow by mid-morning.
Winds were also strong, reaching up to 90 km/h in Montreal by mid-afternoon.
Transport Quebec reported numerous road accidents and a multitude of disabled vehicles on highways in the metropolitan area Friday.
COASTAL OVERFLOWS IN THE EAST
In eastern Quebec, several areas are under warnings of wave surges and coastal overflow.
The Gaspé Peninsula, the North Shore, and certain sectors of the Lower St. Lawrence and the Capitale-Nationale could be affected by this storm. Coastal erosion is possible in areas at risk.
In the Magdalen Islands, Environment Canada also notes that there is a risk of coastal erosion and violent gusts. The threat will be especially present during the high tide on Saturday at noon.
"We're talking about more than 130 km/h, so it's going to create waves, four, five, six metres high when they arrive on the coast, and there will be a lot of erosion," said Legault.
POST DISRUPTED, SCHOOLS CLOSED
Because of the weather, Canada Post has issued red and yellow service alerts for every province and territory, which means "some operations may not be possible in some areas and may be delayed in others."
"Where we can deliver mail, we are asking people to clear access to their homes by removing snow and ice from their walkways, stairs and driveways," it said.
Several school service centres in Quebec have announced the closure of elementary and secondary schools for Friday due to the weather conditions and for safety reasons.
FLIGHTS CANCELLED
International airports in Montreal and Toronto were experiencing numerous flight delays and cancellations on Friday, mainly to and from western Canada, the eastern U.S. and sunny destinations.
Late Thursday, WestJet proactively announced flight cancellations at airports in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia due to the weather forecast.
The airline says the cancellations apply to all flights scheduled to arrive and depart Toronto Pearson International Airport from 9 a.m. Eastern time Friday until the end of the day. Other airports affected by the disruptions include Ottawa, London, Montreal and Waterloo.
STORM HITS ONTARIO
According to the Ontario Provincial Police, up to 100 vehicles were involved in multiple collisions on Highway 401. Sections of the busy highway in southwestern Ontario are closed. Highway 402 in the London area is also closed in several locations due to multiple accidents.
At about 12:45 a.m. Saturday, Hydro One, Ontario's largest electric utility, said nearly 80,000 customers were without power.
Hydro Ottawa, which supplies some 353,000 homes and businesses in the federal capital and Casselman, reported about 600 customers without power around 8 p.m. Friday, saying crews had been able to restore service to more than 117,000 customers.
In parts of southern Ontario, rain followed by falling temperatures could lead to flash-freezing conditions, while high winds and blizzard conditions are forecast for some areas.
Several school boards, including Toronto, Ottawa and London, have also closed schools for the day.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 24, 2022.
