Rain and temperatures above freezing pose the risk that “several ice rinks will remain unusable until Christmas,” regrets the city of Montreal. It promises to redouble its efforts in the coming days to move forward as quickly as possible.
Published yesterday at 2:41 p.m.
“Given the rain and temperatures above freezing in the next two days, we have to start from scratch to get the rinks ready in time for Christmas,” said the press secretary in the mayor's office, Philippe Massé, on Sunday in response to our questions.
He maintains that county crews “will do their best to get the rinks back up and running, but their efforts will depend on next week's weather.”
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
However, as La Presse reported on Saturday, hopes of a white Christmas risk melting like snow by Tuesday as a major system moves along the east coast of the United States, bringing 25 to 80 millimeters of rain in Quebec, depending on the weather in the region. From Montreal to Quebec, along the St. Lawrence Valley, 30 to 50 millimeters of rain is forecast between Sunday evening and Monday evening.
Between 3 and 5 millimeters of rain had accumulated across the province by late Sunday evening, Environment Canada meteorologist Dominic Martel said. The rain was expected to become even heavier overnight and into Monday. The Charlevoix region in particular could absorb up to 100 millimeters of water. Strong winds are also whipping the top of Gaspésie and the Lower North Shore.
During this time, mercury is usually very mild. On the mainland, for example, the temperature on Monday is 9 degrees Celsius, the next day the thermometer shows zero degrees. From Wednesday the rain will give way to sunshine, although the weather will still be relatively mild.
In short: “We can therefore imagine, as in Quebec, that several ice rinks will not be able to be used until the holidays,” laments Mr. Massé. However, he points out that the ice rink at Esplanade Tranquille in the Quartier des Spectacles, which is refrigerated, is already open and will remain open to families.
“It’s discouraging”
“Usually we skate at this time, but in the last two years it has been difficult for the rink engineers,” laments Pierre-Luc Murphy. This Mirabellois has been preparing an ice rink in his backyard since 2018 to the delight of his children and the neighborhood.
“It's work and we don't dare look too much at the weather because it's discouraging,” he emphasizes. This year, he left his rink about a week ago. It has been used three times. “They didn’t announce it at the time [la température] “They’re announcing that today,” he explains.
The father added that his 12-year-old son was particularly disappointed that he could no longer skate. A disappointment that contributes to the inaction associated with the strike by teachers of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) since November 23rd.
Just like his home ice rink, Mirabel also faces the risk that the public ice rinks will not be accessible due to the temperatures. “If it rains, they’re probably closed,” Mr. Murphy said.
Options despite everything
Also last year, the vast majority of Montreal's 200 outdoor ice cream parlors were closed for much of the holiday because of rain and mild weather. Maintaining exterior windows is becoming an increasing challenge given climate change. For several years, residents have been calling on the city to invest more in cooling outdoor ice skating rinks.
On the City of Montreal website it is possible to track the condition of the city's ice rinks on a daily basis. Currently, very few of them are still being irrigated or even resurfaced. In fact, only those that are refrigerated or have special infrastructure are open, such as the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation's “Bleu blanc rouge” rinks.
In Montreal we find them particularly in Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Please note: The Lac aux Castors ice skating rink at Mount Royal is also open to ice skating enthusiasts.
The city of Quebec also confirmed to the daily newspaper Le Soleil this weekend that it would be difficult to open the ice rinks in time for Christmas.
On the Internet, the city states that in order to open a safe ice skating rink, the outside temperature must be -15 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days and that sun and rain are ideally rare, which will not be the case with another beautiful time in the capital. In Montreal you ideally need an accumulation of 10 centimeters of snow on the ground and temperatures below -5°C for three days.
Flood risks
Flooding is possible in places due to rainfall, Environment Canada warns. As of Sunday evening, the Quebec government's flood monitoring site showed no overflow. However, the accumulations pose a risk that the snow cover will melt in certain regions and the water will flow into the rivers.