Slippery road conditions and poor visibility have contributed to countless crashes on Quebec's roads since a mix of snow and freezing rain began falling Sunday evening.

Freezing rain warnings will be in place for Montreal, Laval, and the surrounding area for much of Monday as a mix of snow, freezing rain, and rain falls over the region.

The uncertainty is a factor of the temperature, which started out a few degrees below freezing and is expected to rise to 2 C by mid-afternoon before dipping just below the freezing mark overnight.

CTV weather specialist Lori Graham said Montreal can expect an icy mix of 5 cm of snow to fall Monday, with an additional 5 to 10 cm of snow possible on Tuesday.

Outside the urban core, especially north of the St. Lawrence river, residents should expect anywhere from 10 to 20 cm of snow on Monday.

 

The slick roads led to numerous collisions and rollovers in and around Montreal, several including heavy trucks.

On Sunday evening several people were taken to hospital after three cars and an 18-wheeler collided near the Highway 25/Metropolitan interchange. Witnesses said the truck driver hit the brakes and was rammed from behind by a sedan.

All four victims in the smaller vehicle were injured, but it took emergency crews at least an hour to free them from the wreckage.

A short time later a car rolled over while on Highway 40 near the Gouin exit in Pointe-Aux-Trembles, and CTV crews spotted another rollover on Highway 13 near the Dagenais Exit.

The Surete du Quebec confirmed that officers were very busy overnight responding to collisions, crashes, and fender-benders, and urged all drivers to slow down.

On Monday morning Highway 15 near Mirabel was closed heading north because a tractor-trailer jacknifed. That turned out to be one of the lesser crashes of the day's commute.

 

At least 30 vehicles, including at least three tractor-trailers, were involved in a pile-up on Highhway 40 in Portneuf, near Quebec City.

Ann Mathieu of the Surete du Quebec said several people were injured, but most of the injuries were fairly minor.

It appears that first few drivers lost control in slippery conditions and veered out of their lanes, striking other vehicles and rebounding into others.

Many trucks and cars ended up in ditches on either side of the roadway.