Snowstorm blasts Quebec, with worst expected in Townships, Quebec City and farther east

A winter storm moving north from the east coast of the United States has reached Quebec and is expected to dump snow on the southern and central parts of the province until Wednesday afternoon.

The hardest hit areas will be the Eastern Townships, Quebec City and further east along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, said Brigitte Bourque, an Environment Canada meteorologist.

"The closer you are to that system, the more snow you'll have," Bourque said. 

More than 50 centimetres of snow may fall on parts of the Gaspé region, with high winds expected.

"We're talking about blowing snow, low visibility and road closures tonight and Wednesday morning," Bourque said.

In the Eastern Townships, winds could gust to 60 kilometres per hour and as much as 40 centimetres of snow could fall by Wednesday afternoon. Some school boards in the region have closed for the day.

Montrealers may be able to leave their deep-snow shovels inside their dedicated shovel cabinets, however, with forecasts suggesting the city will not be utterly buried in snow.

Environment Canada says total accumulation is expected to be less than 20 centimetres.

"The quantities go up significantly as soon as you go south," Bourque said. "The Montérégie could get 20 centimetres, but on the island, only 15."

The Laurentians will get even less snow, up to 10 centimetres.

The storm edged north through the eastern U.S. on Monday, with more than 50 centimetres expected in New York City and elsewhere in the Northeast.

Gusts reaching 100 kilometres per hour are forecast overnight for Quebec City, and high winds will blow across much of southern Quebec as part of the storm. The Quebec City region could get more than 30 centimetres of snow, and coastal areas along the river are also subject to a storm surge warning.

"They're at risk because winds are so strong, not because the tides are high, and because there's less ice than normal," Bourque said.