More than 1 million without power as freezing rain coats southwestern Quebec

The latest:

• School boards in Montreal cancel classesThursday.
• As of 3 a.m.ET Thursday, more than one million Hydro-Qubeccustomers were without power.
• Hydro-Qubec says it's not possible to provide a timeline for power restoration.
• Wednesday's forecast called for 10 to 20 millimetres of ice to fall on Montreal.
• If the power or data on your device is low, get your storm updates onCBC Lite. It's our low-bandwidth, text-only website.
• To keep an eye on the outages, click here.

Freezing rain and high winds peltedMontreal and several other southwestern regions in the province Wednesday, knocking out power for hundreds of thousands of Hydro-Qubec customers.

In Montreal, winds gustedaround 60 km/h. In some areas, large branches broke off from trees and landed on parked vehicles.

As of 3 a.m. Thursday, more than one millionHydro-Qubeccustomers were without power. Most of those affected werein the Montreal area and the Outaouaisregion.

The English Montreal School Board,Lester B. Pearson School Board, Centre de services scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'le andCentre de services scolaire de Montralcancelled school for Thursday due to the weather conditions and power outages.

The school boards sent out urgent messages Wednesday night, warning students and staff that daycares, elementary, high school and administrative buildings will be closed.

Hydro-Qubec said theoutages are mainly caused by falling branches or trees that gave way under the weight of the ice.

Caroline Desrosiers, a spokesperson for the public utility, said in an interviewmore than 250 teams wereworking to restore power, butmany customers would be without electricity overnight.

"It's too soon to say when the power will be back for everyone because the storm is still ongoing," Desrosiers said.

"It's hundreds and hundreds of places where our teams need to go, assess what's going on and then they can start the work to re-establish the power."

The teams are grappling with wind and freezing rain as branches continue to fall on power lines, Desrosiers added. "They are working as fast as they can but safety is important."

Montreal police say they receiveda high volume of 911 calls related to the weather. To report damage to an insurer, no police report is required, they said in a tweet Wednesday.

But if a situation endangers safety or traffic, contact 911 immediately, it said.

AtMontreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, 112 flightsarriving and departing were cancelled Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the airport.

The airport wasencouragingtravellers to check their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport.

Environment Canada issued freezing rain alerts Wednesday for several regions.

Montreal, Laval, the Laurentians, the Outaouais, Lanaudire and part of the Montrgiewereexpected to be the hardest hit regions, with 10 to 20 millimetres of ice expected to fall.

"Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots will become icy, slippery and hazardous," the warning reads.

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The federal agency added that tree branches and electrical wires could break under the weight of the ice.

Philippe Sabourin, a spokesperson for the City of Montreal,saidcrews were out Wednesday morning preparing for the icy weather.

"We still have the trucks to spread enough salt and little rocks on the road in order to make sure it won't be too slippery in Montreal," he said earlier.

The province's Transport Ministry wasurging the public to exercise caution and avoid travel because of difficult road conditions.

In light of the warning and its timing, the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board which includes English schools in areas north of Montreal such as Laval, Lanaudire and the Laurentians announced Wednesday that its schools and centres would be closed for the day.

In the Lanaudire region, the town of L'piphanie is warning residents to be prepared for up to 72 hours without power. The town is also reminding residents to not use outdoor equipment, like barbecues or generators, indoors as it could lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

Freezing rain warnings wereissued Wednesday for the Centre-du-Qubec and Estrie regions. By Thursday, though, Environment Canada said temperatures were expected to rise significantly.