Emergency services have been dealing with icy weather since Thursday, but it was less severe than expected on Friday in the Montreal region, where it eventually snowed.
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“It's still a busy day,” summarizes Urgences-Santé spokesman Stéphane Smith.
The rescue organization responded to 84 calls for indoor and outdoor falls on Friday evening, while the greater Montreal area received 1mm of freezing rain in the morning.
The region was partially spared the 5 to 10 mm that Environment Canada had predicted.
Photo agency QMI, JOEL LEMAY
The ice kept rescue workers in suspense for two days. Heavy amounts of freezing rain fell on Thursday, leaving icy sidewalks behind.
“On Thursday we had 172 calls about interior or exterior falls. On average there are 100 calls per hour, whereas normally we are around 40 or 50,” explains Stéphane Smith.
Not the disaster predicted
On Friday morning there was another snowfall in the metropolitan area, where around ten centimeters of snow had fallen in places like Mascouche by the end of the afternoon.
“Due to northeasterly winds bringing cold air into the St. Lawrence Valley, the freezing rain turned to snow a little earlier than expected,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Michèle Fleury.
This change led to difficult conditions on the roads at times.
“Water and snow is collecting on the streets. Mixed together it becomes slippery,” Ms Fleury said.
However, Quebec's Ministry of Transportation reported “minor accidents” as recently as late Friday afternoon.
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