Montreal hit with first blast of winter weather

It’s finally here. While there are still leaves on the trees, it seems Mother Nature didn’t get the memo.

Old Man Winter has reared his head once again, bringing in the first real dusting of snow on Montreal on Thursday.

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement forecasting that nearly five centimetres of snow is expected to fall over the southern part of Quebec.

The snow will change into freezing drizzle or mixed precipitation by the evening.

The turbulent weather system may lead to hazardous driving conditions, officials warn.

“The snow and freezing drizzle could make the roads very slippery. Road conditions could thus become difficult, especially at rush hour in the late afternoon in urban areas,” Environment Canada said.

Well prepared for the season opener, 500 workers were deployed on city streets ahead of the storm.

“Starting this morning before rush hour we were out with our crews spreading the salt and rock,” city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said.

Despite the changing weather conditions, Sabourin said the city is on task with what is to come.

“We are ready to face the situation. It’s not a concern. We have enough trucks and employees,” Sabourin said.

However, the white stuff won’t stick around, with temperatures going above freezing and sunny days ahead, according to Environment Canada.