A winter storm passing over southern Quebec has dumped snow and freezing rain on Montreal, turning streets and sidewalks into a skating rink.

About 10 cm of snow and 7 mm of freezing rain fell on Montreal overnight Monday into Tuesday, with more rain and freezing rain falling throughout the day.

Environment Canada re-issued its freezing rain warning at 5 a.m. and again at 11 a.m. for the Gatineau Valley, the Montreal area, the Laurentians and the Eastern Townships, saying up to 10 mm more ice could accumulate.

The temperature in those regions was forecast to rise to 2 C in the evening before dropping to -9 C overnight with precipitation continuing to fall, although the heaviest rainfall had tapered in Montreal by midday.

As the temperatures drop Tuesday night, the prediction is for two to four cm of snow to fall overnight.

With the freezing rain comes about 40,000 power outages across southern Quebec.

Officials from Hydro-Quebec say that due to an unexpected cell of freezing rain that passed through Montreal at dinner time, they were required to call their teams back to work.

Hydro-Quebec said while it managed to prevent outages during the day, the evening freezing rain caused branches to fall on power lines and other interruptions that could easily affect thousands of homes.

As of 7 p.m. there were 13,600 outages and in Montreal and 25,000 in the Monteregie.

The official could not say when electricity would be restored.

A winter storm warning was in effect for the Gaspé, Charlevoix, and eastern Quebec, with predictions of 25 to 40 cm of snow by the time the storm was finished.

The poor conditions in southern Quebec and Montreal convinced many schools and school boards to cancel classes for the day.

As expected, the freezing rain also made travelling difficult throughout the region.

Most major streets in and around Montreal were plowed overnight, but remained quite slippery as rain hit the ground and froze.

Many drivers said it took them half an hour to chip the thick layer of ice off their windows, doors, and roofs.

"Try not to break your windows and try to get all of the ice off because there's nothing I hate more than driving and seeing ice flying off so I try to be considerate," said driver J.P. Tees.

Pedestrians said that even major streets in the city were not well-plowed or coated with salt or abrasives, making walking difficult except for those wearing spiked boots and crampons.

Crews were working to plow and salt the city's 6,000 kilometres of sidewalks.

Urgences Santé said that two dozen people were hurt badly enough in falls on Tuesday morning that they called 9-1-1 -- most seriously with broken wrists. They also urged Montrealers to take the time to clear off their stairs in case paramedics needed to respond to an emergency.

At Trudeau airport dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed, and the airport said it would be prudent to check ahead before showing up at the airport.

Jada Newman found out on the way to the airport Tuesday morning that her flight had been cancelled.

"I looked at trains when I saw in the cab on the way here that the flight was going to be cancelled but nothing available until tomorrow so I don't know if they're having the same problem with ice or if they're just booked up," she said.

Via Rail has not cancelled any trains due to the weather.

Some Montrealers decided to make peace with the icy streets -- and even find a way to enjoy them: