Friday's rain may complicate snow removal, city says

Montrealerswere hit by yet anothertricky weather cocktail on Friday.

After a light dusting of snow fell this morning, that snow turned to rain in the afternoon.

By 3 p.m., the temperature hit the forecast high of4 C, but it's expected to drop again, falling to a low of7 C overnight.

Overnight Tuesday, Montreal received40 centimetres of snow in the most severe storm of the season, so far.

City crews have been working to remove the snow since early Thursday.

City spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said Thursday that the rain in Friday's forecast could complicate snow-removal operations.

'It's dangerous'

As snow removal operations continue, some parents were upset that the streets in front of an elementary school had not been cleared Friday morning.

"That's why I came early today, because I knew I had to park two blocks away and bring my child," said Elena Saldana, who is the mother of a student in Grade 3 at Royal Vale Elementary School in Montreal'sNotre-Dame-de-Grcedistrict.

She said it's a question of safety.

"The city's not helping us," Saldana said. "We have to make our way."

Another parent, Rebecca Sohmer, said she understands that Tuesday's snowfall must be hard to manage.

"But it's been 36 hours [since the snow stopped falling], and neither side of the street at a school at an elementary school has been cleared," Sohmer said. "Where have the snow trucks been?"

"It's insane, and it's dangerous."

Sabourin said 20 per cent of snow removal was complete by Friday morning, and that city crews are prioritizing hospitals, main roads for buses and Metro stations, as well asschools.

"It takes longer than usual," he said, because in one fell swoop, Montreal got a quarter of the snow it often gets in an entire winter.

"So the operation will be long," Sabourin said.

He asked Montrealers to be patient and to choose public transit, if possible.