Did someone wish for snow? Another major winter storm will hit southern Quebec today

Another winter storm is poised to strike Montreal and southern Quebec overnight Friday.

It will bring between 15 and 20 centimetres of snow, expected to fall late Friday and only end late on Saturday, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

A snowfall warning is in effect and the weather agency says driving conditions could become difficult in some places.

Snow will be especially heavyin the corridor between Lake Huron and the lower North Shore in Quebec as well as parts of the Gasp Peninsula.

A storm surge could take place in Saguenay andQuebec City, wheresnow will be accompanied by strong winds.

The snowmayturn to freezing rain on Saturday afternoon as temperatures rise.

ECCCmeteorologist Jean-Philippe Bginsays Montreal should see a lot less raincompared to the last storm, with the temperatures staying abovefreezing for a shorter period of time.However, he expects roads and sidewalks to remain slippery.

If it arrives as predicted, the storm will be the second major winter weather event to hit southern Quebec this week.

A cocktail of rain and snow buffeted the province overnight Tuesday, knocking out power and closing schools in the Laurentians, Quebec City and on the North Shore.

Impact on Montreal snow removal

The city of Montreal wascarrying outsnow-clearing and loading operationsFriday afternoon,after the earlier storm dumped approximately 16 centimetres of snow on the city.

About 3,000 employees have been deployed for the loadingoperation, which will be paused later tonight, when precipitation is strongest, to focus on clearing snow, said city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin.He said the loading operation would resume once precipitation lessens.

In response to complaints about bike pathsthat are seeminglyin better condition than sidewalks, Sabourin said the perceptioncomes down to the city using different equipment.

"Usually, we're using a pickup truck on on bike pack, but there's no way we can use that on the sidewalkit's too narrow," he said.

Another factor to keep in mind, he says, is that Montreal has700 kilometres of bike paths to clear compared to 6,000 kilometres of sidewalks.

"We're asking everyone to be kind enough to share the infrastructures," he said. "If the bike path is in better condition than your sidewalk, in those extreme conditions, feel free to use the bike path as long as you're safe."

WATCH | Montreal is trying to get ahead of the snow, slush and ice cycle:

Freeze, thaw, repeat: Montreal adapts snow-clearing to climate change

10 months ago

Duration 2:06

This is how the city is dealing with icy sidewalks now that they're becoming more and more of a problem and what one expert thinks could help.

He says anyone can call 311 or use the city app to request for a street to be cleaned. He is also calling on Montrealers to keep their recycling bins near their home and to avoid putting their Christmas trees in the middle of the sidewalk, which could delay snow removal operations.

Jump in emergency calls

Vanessa Grillo, a spokespersonfor Urgences-sant and supervisor of the emergency and preparedness team,says the ambulance servicehad to activate its most critical contingency plan yesterday to meet demand.

"Anybody that has paramedic training can be called on the road," she said. "We put managers on the road as well in order to support our instructors, our specialists that are usually more in the offices."

"It's not something that we like to do, but in this situation it was necessary," she added.

Yesterday, Urgences-sant received 1,473 calls the most it hasreceived in a single day in the past eight years, Grillosaid.On a regular day, the agency receives between 800 and900 calls.

Of yesterday'scalls, 225 were about falls,"a large amount" were caused by icysidewalks, she said.