Heavy snow, extreme winds leave thousands of Quebecers without power

Extreme winds and periods of heavy snow are expected overnight, with ECCC issuing a snow squall watch.

Over 100,000 Hydro-Québec clients are without power as extreme winds are hitting the province with heavy snow on the way Monday night.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) issued two weather alerts, with one warning that southwesterly winds could reach up to 90 km/h.

As of 8:30 p.m., some 13,000 addresses in Montreal had power outages. The Montérégie area was hardest hit, with almost 23,000 left without power.

Montreal’s REM is also down in both directions due to high winds.

“High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break,” ECCC notes.

Wind warnings are issued when there is a significant risk of damaging winds.

Hydro-Québec said its teams are on the ground to restore services as quickly as possible.

Periods of heavy snow are also expected overnight, with ECCC also issuing a snow squall watch.

“Visibilities in snow squalls may be greatly reduced due to intense snow,” the agency said.

As such, temperatures are expected to fall significantly, “following the passage of a cold front.”

“An arctic air mass will then sweep across the province, causing temperatures to plummet,” ECCC said. “Travel may be hazardous due to sudden changes in the weather. Visibility may be significantly and suddenly reduced to near zero.”

Snow squall watches are issued when there is a possibility that weather conditions may lead to intense bursts of heavy snow producing near zero visibilities.