Spring storm comes to southern Quebec
CBC News | Posted: March 22, 2014 1:29 PM | Last Updated: March 22, 2014
15 cm of snow creates dangerous driving conditions
Despite the arrival of spring on Thursday, southern Quebec is enduring another snowstorm today.
Up to 15 centimetres of new snow should fall on the Montreal area, Montérégie and the Eastern Townships, beginning this morning.
The storm is expected to end this afternoon.
A low pressure system near Toronto moved eastward overnight, bringing the storm into southwestern Quebec this morning,
Difficult driving
According to Environment Canada, the heavy snow will cause a rapid deterioration of road conditions.
Roads are at least partly snow-covered from the Outaouais all the way to Quebec City.
Conditions are particularly poor in the Lanaudière and on Highway 25 through the Laurentians, where visibility is zero in some sections.
Transport Quebec spokesperson Francois Giroux says the timing of the storm is bad news for drivers who have already removed their snow tires.
"Legally they can, because the final date was March 15. Right now someone can have their summer tires. So for the people who have already changed their tires, it's important to be careful," said Giroux.
Giroux said an accident on highway 20 near Baie D'Urfe caused a slowdown in traffic this morning.
The Sûreté du Québec says there have been several incidents of cars losing control on the roads, though no major accidents have been reported.
At Montreal's Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport in Montreal, some flights are cancelled or delayed.
Skiers, however, may appreciate this new layer of snow on the slopes.
The storm is expected to quickly move east, then head south towards Maine.