Spring snowstorm leaves over 135,000 Quebecers without power, closes schools across the province
Posted April 4, 2024 8:40 am.
Last Updated April 4, 2024 6:31 pm.
Around 135,000 Hydro-Quebec customers remain without power as a significant spring storm rolls through the province
As of 5 p.m., the power company reported 18,000 were without power in Montreal and 50,000 in the Laurentians are without power.
Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings for most of the region, with as much as 25 centimetres expected to fall.
CityNews weather specialist Stella Acquisto said that with the snow and the combination of gusty winds, they can reach up to 70 kilometers per hour.
“We’re going to have poor visibility out on the roadway. So it is quite dangerous,” she said. “So make sure you watch out. And if you don’t have to go out, maybe it’s just best to stay indoors.”
Some Montrealers have mixed feelings about the large snowfall.
Dawn Assaly is Montreal resident who said she wants to be anywhere with warmer weather.
“I’m thinking about hopping on a plane and going somewhere to go walk on a beach.”
Maria Rodriguez lives in NDG.
She said that Montreal weather is always unpredictable.
“Well, it’s unexpected. I don’t understand spring here and like the out of power I’m moving now to a friend’s house because I need to work so well, it’s really weird, but well, it is what it is. It’s Montreal.”
School closures in effect
Some of the school closures include:
- Lester B. Pearson School Board
- English Montreal School Board
- Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board
- Centre de services scolaire de Laval
- Centre de services scolaire des Affluents
- Centre de services scolaire des Mille-Îles
- Courtland Park International School
- Harold Napper School
- Sacred Heart School
- Mountainview School
- CPE les Bois Verts
- CPE Dollard
- CPE Hebrew Foundation
- CPE Lachine
- Centre académique Fournier
- Centre d’intégration scolaire inc.
- Greaves Adventist Academy
- Hebrew Foundation School
- JEM Workshop
- Marianopolis College
- Miss Edgars and Miss Cramps School
- Peter Hall School
- Rotiwennakehte School
- Ratihente:te High School
- Sacred Heart School
- Summit School
- Vanguard School
The snow that fell overnight also led to the closure of many schools in Outaouais, Laval, the Laurentians, Lanaudière, and Montérégie.
In Montérégie, the outages have affected over 15,000 people while in Outaouais, 14,500 customers do not have power.
Residents of Laval (13,000), Lanaudière (11,700) and Estrie (10,000) are also affected by the outages.
“We’ve got 20 cm of snow, but with warm temperatures expected this weekend, everything’s gonna melt. So there’s no necessity to launch a snow removal operation,” said Phillipe Sabourin, spokesperson for the city of Montreal.
The utility company said that many power lines are on the ground due to strong winds and the heavy weight of snow on the branches.
“Most of the people without power will have it back by the end of the day,” said Gabrielle Leblanc, spokesperson for Hydro-Quebec. “During events like this, heavy snow and strong winds cause branches to break and can cause outages. The working conditions are hard because the trees are full of snow.”
According to Hydro-Quebec, they have over 1,000 workers on the ground trying to get power back to customers as quickly as possible.
They say to consult their website for more information, and that the service restoration times shown on the map are approximate, and may vary due to the number of outages and the kind of damage.
Leblanc said that people should stay indoors and stay away from wires and vegetation.
“We want to make sure people are safe. We don’t know if wires are active, so we advise residents to stay at least 10 metres away from Hydro-Quebec networks.”
