Storm pelts Montreal with freezing rain to start the week

Quebecers heading outside on Monday are being asked to excercise caution as freezing rain that began overnight continues to coat surfaces in ice.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has issued an orange weather alert covering much of southern Quebec, with ice expected to build up throughout the day.

The affected areas include the Greater Montreal region, the Outaouais, the Laurentians, Lanaudière, and the Eastern Townships.

ECCC meteorologist Olivier Veer said as much as 15 millimetres of ice could accumulate in some areas.

"We are expecting the freezing rain to continue through the day, it should taper off early in the afternoon," he said.

Veer, however, noted that the rain will give way to strong winds with gusts of 90 km/hour possible in the Montreal area.

"So that's going to be a new load of hazard because, you know, there's going to be lots of ice accumulated on surfaces, on trees and power lines," Veer said. "And so you're going to have wind blowing on that. So people should be careful."

In addition to ice and branches falling, ECCC is warning of hazardous travel conditions with some walkways and roads frozen over, and the possibility of prolonged power outages.

Montreal's Trudeau airport is advising passengers to check their flights before heading to the airport with some flights delayed or cancelled.

Weather conditions are also causing problems for Montreal commuters hoping to use the REM, with no train service between the Deux-Montagnes and Bois-Franc stations as of 9 a.m. It is not known when service will resume.