As major snowfall hits, records set to be buried

Quebec is in the midst of another big snowfall that looks set to break records.

After several centimetres of snow hit many parts of the province overnight, a new major storm that swept into Ontario earlier Saturday began to blanket Montreal and the Gatineau area in the afternoon.

Forecasters predicted up to 10 cm of additional snow by early evening and another 10 to 20 cm overnight Saturday.

In the Montreal area, the storm was expected to be laced with ice pellets and freezing rain, as well as wind gusts up to 60 km/h.

Montreal is close to breaking its all-time snowfall record for one winter, set in 1970-71, when 383 cm of flakes fell on the city.

"These storms … it's almost as if they have Montreal in its crosshairs," David Phillips, a senior climatologist with Environment Canada, said.

"Every one of them seems to be coming your way and dumping huge amounts of snow. You've had about 317 centimetres of snow, about 100 more than last year and almost 80 per cent more than normal."

On average, Montreal gets nearly 50 centimetres of snow in March and April. But with this weekend's huge precipitation dump, the city will be well on its way to break the record for the snowiest winter on the books.

Quebec City was also drawing close to its single-season snowfall record of 478 cm, established in 1965.  

Highway pileup injures 10

The storm was being blamed for a dramatic accident in Quebec Saturday afternoon involving as many as 20 vehicles near Lavaltrie, about 60 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

Provincial police said at least 10 people were injured in the highway collision.

Meanwhile, more than 125 flights were delayed or cancelled at Montreal's Trudeau airport. Air travellers were being advised to call ahead and check with their airlines before leaving home.

In St. Jérôme, the storm had residents keeping their eyes on their rooftops after the roofs of two local businesses — an Ultramar gas station and a factory — collapsed Friday under the weight of a metre of accumulated powder.

No injuries were reported in either incident, but St. Jérôme fire department spokesperson Guy Meilleur said the municipality would be vigilant over the weekend.

"We are expecting near 30 centimetres of snow, and if it's warm, it's going to add more weight on the structures," Meilleur said. "So we're asking people remove the snow if possible."

Snowplows ready

The city of Montreal said it's ready to handle this weekend's wallop. The province has approved its request for removal crews to work longer hours — up to 12 hours a day per worker — over the next week, and the city has opened five new dumpsites to handle the overflow of snow.

At the Turcot Yards in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, about 200 trucks are arriving every hour, 24 hours a day, to dispose of snow cleared from city streets.

But some boroughs say they're running out of money to pay for clearing away this winter's unusually voluminous fall.

Marcel Tremblay, the city executive committee member in charge of snow removal, said Montreal will sit down with the boroughs in the spring to work out a financing solution.