Winter storm is coming: Stay off the roads if you don't have winter tires

Environment Canada is warning Quebecers that a winter storm could move into the province on Thursday night, and bring "significant snowfall amounts."

The storm moving north from the United States is expected to move over the Eastern Townships and could bring snow to Montreal, Quebec City, the Laurentians, and other areas to the north.

In Montreal, about 5-10 centimetres of snow are expected to fall Thursday night with a wind chill making it feel like -13 Celsius. Another 5 centimetres of snow will fall Friday morning and it will taper off during the day on Friday. The temperature will rise slightly to feel like -5 in the afternoon. A few more flurries are expected around midnight.

Areas further east of Montreal could see 15 to 30 centimetres in total.

This marks the first significant snowfall of the season for the Montreal region and even though snowfall amounts may stay below the warning criteria of 15 centimetres, Environment Canada warns that the snow has the potential to impact the morning commute.

 

Stay off the roads if you don’t have winter tires

The deadline to install winter tired in Quebec is a month away, on Dec. 15, and Transport Quebec is warning drivers that don’t have them installed to stay off the roads unless it is absolutely necessary.

The City of Montreal also suggests limiting driving.

There are more than 1,000 snow clearing vehicles and the same number of employees ready to start clearing the streets and sidewalks.

Priority is to clear around hospitals, schools, bus and metro stations first.

“All our crews are ready to hit the roads. The will start as soon as we have 2.5 centimetres of snow on the street and sidewalks. They will work all night in order to secure the move of everyone tomorrow morning, Friday,” said city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin. “That being said, if you don’t have your winter tires on, you’d better take public transit. Better to be safe than sorry.”

That said, commuters can expect delay on public transit too. Maintenance workers walked off the job Thursday afternoon, and the STM is warning of possible delays.