This week’s winter storm not only brought 40 centrimetres of snow with it, but it also brought Montrealers together in some wonderful — and not so wonderful — ways.
From strangers helping others to businesses finding clever ways to increase foot traffic to the picturesque scenes and the many, many, snow plows rumbling on city streets, here is a roundup of some of the good and some of the bad:
Volunteers helping seniors
A trio of Kirkland residents spent the week going door to door visiting senior citizens to offer a helping hand to dig out of the 40 centimetres of snow that fell on Montreal.
WATCH: Kirkland volunteers help dig out seniors after major snowfall
Giveaways, giveaways, giveaways
A pastry shop in Montreal’s Plateau-Mont-Royal handed out free doughnuts to customers who made their way to the store, but there was a catch: they had to be wearing skis or snowshoes.
The Montreal Impact had a similar idea: they gave out a pair of tickets for their home opener on April 13 to the first person to show up in skis, but they had to make the trek out to the Olympic Stadium.
Until Feb. 22, Car2Go is offering those who dig out one of their cars a $20 credit after they send them an email with a before and after picture with the hashtag #digoutmtl.
More plows and less parking
Snowblowers, snow plows, loading trucks: the city had 2,000 of them working from the moment the first snowflakes hit the ground on Tuesday.
They’re expected to keep on going until next Thursday when the snow-removal operations should be coming to an end.
Not only does the machinery crowd the streets, but it also slows traffic and has left many cars buried in mountains of snow.
Parking was a nightmare for those who had to use their cars this week and driving on the roads led to several collisions and brief highway closures.
Watch below: Global’s Mike Armstrong documents his commute from Pierrefonds-Roxboro after recent storm — it wasn’t smooth
Cancelled flights and no school
Numerous flights were cancelled or delayed at Montreal’s Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport and several English and French school boards closed for the day.
READ MORE: Here’s which schools are closed in greater Montreal area due to winter storm
But for some, that just meant more time for play.
A handful of Montrealers gathered in Saint-Henri’s Sir George-Étienne Cartier Square for a good old snowball fight Wednesday night.
— With files from Global’s Tim Sargeant and Rachel Lau