Snow to persist through Thursday
This snowstorm doesn’t seem quite the fierce beast we were told to expect, but TVA is promising us more accumulation throughout the day. Schools are closed (insert muttering about how this storm would never have closed schools in my day) and we’re being advised to stay home if we can.
I tend to agree with walkerp and DeWolf in comments below. Weather gets over‑hyped these days.
…OK, midafternoon, it’s piling up!
CBC Radio at 3:30 reports Environment Canada says 30 cm with another couple of cm that may fall Thursday and the wind is going to pick up.
walkerp 10:04 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
[indistinct muttering]
Ian 10:09 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
From the forecast it’s not so much the overnight accumulation that was supposed to be the main snow, but that it’s going all day. It will get heavy again around 3 but we’ll be getting around 2 cm an hour all day.
https://merrysky.net/forecast/Montr%C3%A9al,%20Agglom%C3%A9ration%20de%20Montr%C3%A9al,%20Montr%C3%A9al%20(r%C3%A9gion%20administrative),%20Qu%C3%A9bec,%20Canada/ca
Mark 10:12 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
I’m in Gatineau and when I woke up at 6am, I would have agreed with the dismissal of the storm. But from 6-9am, we must of gotten another 10-15 cm easy, so it went from “meh” to “ok this is a lot of snow”. The streets here are pretty snowy and I could hear everyone complaining had school not been cancelled.
GC 11:32 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
I might be misremembering, but I feel like school was NEVER closed for snow when I was young. If there was something like freezing rain expected, yes. And, even then the school was technically still open–it was just the buses that were cancelled. And we’d still call it a “snow day”, but I don’t remember it ever being because of a lot of snow was expected. (Granted, I grew up in Southern Ontario and not here, but still…)
This was before email, of course. There was barely electricity back then, in the 20th century. So, we’d get the news from the morning radio shows.
Nicholas 11:44 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
While private and some off-island schools closed when I was in school, the only time school every closed on me was the ice storm, when we all literally lost power. I remember once getting driven by another parent and we got stuck in snow in the middle of the street and had to get out a shovel, arrived a few minutes after the bell.
Is this a better system? I don’t know. But I think schools should be open for those who need a place to go and can make it there. Some parents have jobs they can’t miss.
Tim S. 12:33 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
I imagine if you’re a school admin, having kids stuck at school at the end of the day is probably an even bigger headache than them not making it in in the morning.
And growing up in the 80s and 90s, we had some snow days but certainly not every year. It takes a particular combination of accumulation, wind and timing for closures.
DeWolf 12:54 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
The hype for this one is looking to be justified. It’s not even noon and at least according to Apple weather, we’ve already gotten 36cm of snow with another 8-10cm to come this afternoon.
And this evening we’re forecast to have 50km/h winds with 80km/h gusts…
Uatu 13:07 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
Snow days don’t really count these days since the teacher can pretty much email homework to the kids. And the REM ran this morning without any problems so it’s not that bad.
walkerp 13:31 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
Yeah, definitely getting some accumulation now. I guess it just arrived late.
Kevin 14:48 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
I think a lot of people heard 30-40 cm and thought it would all arrive overnight, not from 10 pm to whenever it ends…
Uatu 15:51 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
I jinxed it! The rem broke down around 1pm lol
Nicholas 18:57 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
Tim, I get your point, but school admins would have the least headaches if children never showed up at all. Like the hospital with no patients or doctors, just administrators. Schools are there to provide education and, let’s face it, watch kids while their parents go to work. I understand if some kids can’t make it, if the buses can’t run, but the schools could open for the kids who want or need a place to go.
jeather 21:29 on 2025-02-13 Permalink
If they don’t use the snow days as snow days, they use them as ped days in the spring, so halfway through Feb you don’t need to save them.
Joey 11:52 on 2025-02-14 Permalink
@Nicholas the issue isn’t whether some kids won’t make it in, it’s whether enough teachers will. Anyway, don’t be a grouch, let the kids enjoy their unexpected day off. Truly a childhood highlight. We forget how little autonomy kids have from a day to day perspective. An unplanned free day is about as good as it gets.
Ian 11:56 on 2025-02-14 Permalink
Just be happy the teacher unions all agreed that teaching online on snow days was a violation of our collective agreements 😀
Steph 19:11 on 2025-02-14 Permalink
I did get my car stuck in a snow bank and two helpful neighbour’s helped to push me out but I stand by my statement that the media over dramaticized the storm. I don’t think it was necessary to close the schools. That REM seems too fragile, I imagine it’ll shut down eveytime there’s 10 cm of snow.
With that said, I am NOT looking forward to shoveling another 30cm again on Sunday.