High winds and freezing rain leave thousands without power in Montreal

Thousands of residents across Montreal and surrounding regions were without electricity Monday morning as freezing rain and powerful winds moved through southern Quebec.

Environment Canada says a prolonged period of freezing rain and ice pellets will continue through the end of the day, with 5 to 15 millimetres of ice accretion expected in the Montreal area. Temperatures are hovering near plus 1 C, though wind chills made it feel closer to minus – 13 C early in the day. Freezing rain is expected to transition to snow mixed with rain later this afternoon.

As of 3:19 p.m., in Montreal, 563 customers were without electricity. The Montérégie reported 638 outages, while 12,615 customers were affected in the Laurentians. Across Quebec, approximately 21,045 addresses were without power.

“With the freezing rain, it creates a situation where branches are heavier,” said Cendrix Bouchard, spokesperson for Hydro-Québec. “So, they might actually lean and come in contact with the network causing outages when the branches or the trees are touching our lines.”

“If the wind comes in situation as well, then it will create a situation where the branches will be carried and come in contact,” added Bouchard. “They will be swinging because of the wind and come in contact with the network.”

Power outages were already widespread as of 8:19 a.m.

“When we’re in a situation like this where we might have outages, it’s always a good idea to keep your electronics charged for resilience, of course,” warned Bouchard. “And also, if you do see branches that you believe are really close to the network, do not attempt to take care of them yourself. Let us do it. It’s very important for people to remember to always stay three meters away from our network, at least.”

As of  8:19 a.m., in Montreal, 2,357 customers were without electricity. The Montérégie reported 3,793 outages, while 45 customers were affected in the Laurentians. Across Quebec, approximately 8,140 addresses were without power.

Winds are expected to intensify later today, shifting to the southwest and reaching 60 km/h with gusts up to 90 km/h in Montreal, raising concerns that outage numbers could continue to climb as conditions worsen.

“It’s possible that we see more outages,” said Bouchard. “The situation we have right now is about 100 different outages in Quebec. So if situation remains as it is right now, we’re confident that everybody’s going to be back on the grid before the end of the day. Of course we can’t predict what’s going to happen later on today if winds come in situation that it might cause other outages, but we don’t know for sure.”