Winter storm coming to southern Quebec Monday, many schools announce snow day

Most schools on the island of Montreal will be closed Monday asthe region expects to see 15 or more centimetres of snow. Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a winter storm warning for most of southern Quebec.

The major school boards and service centres on the island,including the English Montreal School Board, the Centre de services scolaire de Montral and theLester B. Pearson School Board,announced schools would be shut down for the day.

The snowfall is expected to begin early in the morning and last throughout the day into the evening. It will be the result of a low pressure system travelling north from the American Eastern Seaboard.

A total of up to 25 centimetres of snow could fall in the Montreal area, St. Lawrence Valley and Outaouais region,and up to 35 centimetres inthe Laurentians, Lanaudire, Mauricie, QubecCity and Charlevoix regions.

Wind gusts of up to 70 kilometres per hour are expected to accompany the snow in those areas, as well.

Some parts of Ontario could get up to 50 centimetres.

Cold making way for snow

"Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow," the Quebec warning said.

"Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow."

The storm prediction comes after much of Quebec has experienced extreme cold temperatures for the past several days.

Saturday morning, temperatures dipped to24 C in Montreal, and felt like a blistering 37 C with the wind chill factor.

But abalmy high of3 C is expected for Monday.