Snow in April causes plenty of road skids

The April snowfall in Eastern Ontario and Quebec has caused more than just frustration for the winter-weary. The Sret du Qubec reported a numberof cars skidding off the highways around Montreal.

Scores of cars slid off the roads in the Montregie, Laurentians and Outaouais regions, about 20 in each region, Sgt. Claude Denis said.

"These aren't serious incidents, causing only minor material damage," he said. "If there were any injuries, they were minor."

Historically, snow makes a comeback in mid April. When averaged over 70 years, snowfall in Montreal slightly increases around April 11 to 0.7 centimetres.

Drivers optimistically and prematurely changing to their summer tires could be a factor, Denissaid.

"We recommend people don't take the road if they changed their tires. But if they must drive, they should check with Quebec 511 to see how they should adapt their speeds."

Environment Canada expects 5 to 10 centimeters of snow, but changing to rain overnight and warmer temperatures on Thursday.

At 8:30 p.m., Montreal'sinternational airport reported 10 cancelled or delayed flights between 7:30 and 9 p.m.