Montreal under snowfall warning as power restored — for most
Montreal residents are waking up to snow-filled skies and slippery streets on Monday, with the city still under a yellow snowfall warning.
Environment and Climate Change Canada said an additional five to 10 centimetres of snow is expected to accumulate throughout the day.
"Powdery snow will be easily carried by winds, resulting in locally reduced visibilities," the agency warned.
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Some Montreal schools announced weather-related closures on Monday, while other closures were related to ongoing power outages on the Montreal island, mainly affecting Côte Saint-Luc, Montreal West and the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce.
The announced closures include:
École Vanguard School in Saint-Laurent.
Wagar Adult Education Centre in Côte Saint-Luc.
Philip E. Layton Schools in NDG.
The Mackay Centre in NDG.
Lower Canada College in NDG.
École primaire des Amis-du-Monde in Côte Saint-Luc.
Meanwhile, Hydro-Québec said a problem at the Hampstead substation that left thousands without power over the weekend has been resolved.
While the problem has been fixed, power is still being restored in some areas, according to Hydro-Québec spokesperson Lynn St-Laurent.
"Our crews are now focusing on the distribution network to restore service to the roughly 3,000 customers who do remain without power," she said.
"We completely understand the impact of a power outage in this extreme cold, our thoughts are obviously with all the affected customers. Restoring the service safely and rapidly is our priority."
St-Laurent said the utility can't bring power back all at once because it puts too much strain on the system.
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The equipment failure at the substation knocked power out on Saturday morning, prompting the affected communities to open warming stations for residents.
The Red Cross also opened an overnight emergency shelter at the Côte-des-Neiges community centre while Montreal firefighters spent Sunday going door-to-door to perform wellness checks.
On Monday, the Aquatic and Community Centre in Côte Saint-Luc remained accessible to affected residents looking to warm up, have a shower or grab a cup of coffee, with regular programming resuming.
In NDG, several municipal facilities were also ready to welcome those affected by outages including the Côte-des-Neiges Community Recreation Centre, Centre communautaire Monkland, Bibliothèque de Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Bibliothèque Benny, Centre sportif Côte-des-Neiges and Bibliothèque de Côte-des-Neiges.
Getting around the city
Snow-clearing operations were underway Monday morning, with Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada telling CBC Daybreak crews were running 24/7 to ensure safe streets.
Environment Canada warned that cold temperatures combined with snow could make surfaces slippery and urged caution on the roads.
While city buses are running, the Société de Transport de Montréal said weather conditions could result in some delays on bus routes.
Meanwhile, an equipment breakdown on the REM light-rail network is causing a service slowdown between the Deux-Montagnes and Côte-de-Liesse stations with train changes required at the Côte-de-Liesse and Bois-Franc stations. It not yet known when normal service will resume.
As for those heading to Montreal's Trudeau International Ariport, it is recommended passengers check with their airline for any delays or flight cancellations.
Eric Forest, a spokesperson for Aéroports de Montréal, told CBC News in an email that while the airport is "fully operational" some flights have been cancelled.
"Today's flight cancellations are mainly due to weather conditions affecting parts of the United States and southern Ontario," Forest said.
This article, written by Annabelle Olivier, was originally published for CBC News