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The Greater Montreal area could see a prolonged period of freezing rain on Monday, with potentially hazardous conditions developing across much of southern Quebec.
Freezing rain — possibly mixed with ice pellets — may begin overnight Sunday and continue through the end of the day Monday, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
“This freezing rain and ice pellet event is associated with the passage of an intense low-pressure system through the Great Lakes region,” ECCC said in its warning on Friday.
The agency updated its warning to an orange-level alert on Saturday, noting ice accretion amounts of five to 15 millimetres are expected to accumulate.
Under ECCC’s new alert system, an orange code means severe weather is likely to cause significant damage or disruption with impacts that are major, widespread or may last a few days.
The weather agency says orange alerts are not common.
In addition to Greater Montreal, areas at risk include the Outaouais, the Laurentides, Lanaudière, Montérégie, and the Eastern Townships.
ECCC is urging residents to reconsider non-essential travel during this period, as ice buildup could make road conditions dangerous. Ice accretion may also lead to broken tree branches, with prolonged outages likely.
