The unseasonably warm weather was good while it lasted but Old Man Winter finally came knocking as the Greater Montreal region was hit with the first snowfall of the season Wednesday.
Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for the first dusting of snow for Montreal and the surrounding regions.
Five to 10 centimetres are expected to fall by the end of the day.
The first snowfall made for a complicated morning rush hour on the roads.
In Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Highway 50 was closed in both directions, between Kilmar and Scotch roads, for over an hour.
According to Quebec 511, which monitors the state of Quebec’s road system, the closure of the highway was due to a pileup involving six vehicles.
In addition, in Laval, a collision on Highway 15 northbound also complicated the lives of motorists.
The incident, which occurred near Curée-Labelle Boulevard, involved several vehicles.
A snow-clearing operation is underway in Montreal.
Crews with heavy machinery will be focusing their efforts on the streets and sidewalks.
“The main priority is to plow the snow on the sidewalk, make sure the steep hills are not slippery,” city spokesperson Philippe Sabourin said.
“We’re spreading salt and rocks on the roads in order to ease the move for everyone.”
The snow caught many drivers off guard, and many motorists still do not have their vehicles equipped with winter tires.
At Gordon’s tires in NDG, the garage is firing on all cylinders as they scramble to keep up with demand.
“We have had a pretty mild fall so it’s not so bad until this week. Everybody has been saying, ‘I need an appointment,” mechanic Daryl Keating said.
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“It’s the same every year, everyone waits till the snow comes.”
With more than 100 appointments a day, Keating says the garage is fully booked and motorists will have a difficult time finding an appointment before the province’s Dec. 1 winter tire deadline.
Cars must be equipped with them from Dec. 1 to March 15 in Quebec.
Drivers caught without them could face fines of up to $300.
Exo train and bus service was running on time, not affected by the wintery weather, according to spokesperson Jean-Maxime St-Hilaire.
“Once you’re on the bus or train you don’t have the stress of driving when people don’t have their tires yet. So we invite everyone: use public transit today,” St-Hilaire said.
With files from Canadian Press.
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