Montreal doubles down on de-icing sidewalks as temps plummet across province

After a day of freezing rain to close out the weekend,a new winter storm system will hover over much of QuebecMonday, bringing frigidtemperatures, high winds and snow.

Montreal has kicked its sidewalk de-icing efforts into high gear asmost of southern Quebec and Ontario faces heavy squalls and westerly wind gustsof 80 km/h or more.

The system is hovering over central Quebec, extending as far east as Prince Edward Island, saidEnvironment CanadameteorologistSimon Legault.

"Right now it's covering most parts of theprovince," he said. "It's going to get windy during the day."

Sustained winds will blow at about60 km/h, but gusts could be much higher into the evening, he said.

"These very strong winds combined with the snow will produce blowing snow in exposed areas, at times greatly reducing visibility and making roads slippery," Environment Canada warns on itswebsite.

The wind iscausing a drop in temperatures with areas like Montreal falling to15 degreesCelsius. Temps will fall even lower in the Quebec City andLac-Saint-Jeanregions where wind chills could make it feel like 40 below zero.

Montreal sends out ice-breaking brigade

In Montreal, little snow is expected, but strong winds will be a factor and the drop in temperature will likelycause all that water accumulation to freeze in the coming days.

Montreal issued a press release Sunday evening, saying boroughs will be spreading salt and abrasives "intensively" in anticipation of cold temperatures.

With about two-thirds of the recent snowfall removed, city spokesperson Philippe Sabourinsaid boroughs slowed snow-removal operations Sunday and sent out crews to break ice and spread abrasives.

The situation is pretty good when it comes to the streets, he said, but the sidewalks need attention and crews will be out throughout the day Monday.

Montreal washit with 12 millimetres of rain, freezing rain and drizzle on Sunday,Sabourinsaid on Monday morning. "We conferred on the situation and decided to focus on sidewalks."

Eversidewalks has been attended to at least once already, he said, but crews will be continue to work Monday with a focus on smaller, residential streets. Crews will also be breaking up ice around drains to help clear water.

There are about 300 workers on the job, he said, using 300 sidewalk-clearing and de-icing machines on the sidewalks.

See how Montreal prepares salt for streets and sidewalks:

Where Montreal's salt comes from

6 years ago

Duration 0:56

Where Montreal's salt comes from

Still, he said, drivers should expect to see pedestrians in the street.

"Everybody should walk with caution," Sabourin said. "Drivers must slow down because there's obviously pedestrians on little streets."

Wild weather slams Quebec City

In Quebec City, Hydro-Qubec has been reporting power outages affecting thousands of customers early Monday as heavy snow accumulated in the region and winds picked up.

The city already had about a metre of snow on the ground from recent snowfallsbefore another18 centimetres accumulated overnight. More is on the way.

In Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, authorities are urging citizens to avoid driving. Environment Canada is also warningof extreme cold that will persist through Tuesday.

At the same time, that region is expected to get battered with strong winds that, combined with heavy snow, will reduce visibility to zero by this afternoon and evening.

"Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions," the weather agency says. "Road closures are possible."

Residents of the Gasp and Lower St. Lawrence regions can expect 15 to 30 centimetres of snow, with some areas experiencing wind gusts of up to 100 km/h.

Gatineauhas low snow accumulation, but strong winds to look forward to. Flurries, blowing snow and gusts of up to 80 km/h are forecast.