While Wednesday’s ice storm left almost a million Quebecers without power, the weather forecast for April raised hopes that it would be the last storm of the winter.
• Also read: One of the worst ice storms since 1998; more than 850,000 homes without power in Quebec
• Also read: [EN IMAGES] Ice storms, sleet and strong winds: An impressive system hits southern Quebec
At around 7:00 p.m., more than 810,000 Hydro Quebec customers were plunged into darkness, resulting in a total of more than 1,560 outages and approximately 18% of affected subscribers across the province.
Outaouais, Montreal, Montérégie and the Laurentians were particularly affected, while Quebec and the East were spared failures due to freezing rain.
Hydro-Québec was quick to remind citizens not to go near the wires on the ground.
The breakdowns were caused by branches or trees falling under the weight of the ice.
- Listen to the interview with Caroline Desrosiers, spokeswoman for Hydro-Québec, on The Mario Dumont Show, broadcast live on QUB radio :
All available teams are mobilized, the state-owned company reiterated, but it is still too early to determine the average time to restore service.
According to Environment Canada, a bad 24 hours may elapse before true spring returns on this black day.
Rarely
“There is rarely so much ice. The air mass that caused the ice storm is unstable and precipitation has been heavy. In 2019 we had a roughly comparable system,” explains meteorologist André Cantin.
Carried away by the gusts, the city of Quebec notably announced that it would be monitoring the waterways and setting up a temporary emergency station in the event of overflow in the shelters accommodating the homeless. .
Photo Stevens LeBlanc
Snow plows were in action at the exit of the bridges in Quebec.
When the damage may take several days to repair, Mother Nature should give teams a break as the mercury could top 10C in both Montreal and Quebec on Thursday.
In April, don’t be surprised to find yourself going through the four seasons in a very short space of time.
“Temperatures will rise to allow this ice to melt. We came back in winter, we have spring conditions again and then we fall back below normal,” added Mr. Cantin.
- Listen to the interview with Gilles Paillé, spokesman for the Quebec Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, on Mario Dumont’s program, broadcast live on QUB radio :
sweet weather
With a bit of luck, the thermometer will rise to 20°C in the metropolis for the first time next week.
The risk of flooding is not excluded, but precipitation will be small. “Luckily it won’t rain,” he said.
As far as the eye can see, there is no further storm on the horizon. However, La Beauce experienced a white carpet on the morning of May 12, 2020.
“You can never swear it will be the last but I don’t see any system in the next two weeks. At the end of April it is becoming increasingly unlikely. At 80-90% it’s the last,” the specialist specifies.
A “simple” winter
Aside from downtown Montreal, the rest of Quebec still has good snow cover on the ground.
With the exception of a polar weekend in early February, the winter of 2022-2023 is far from having broken cold records.
Overall, average temperatures were above normal, according to Environment Canada data. “It’s been a pretty easy winter in Quebec in general,” concludes Mr. Cantin.
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