Whether you were ready for it or not, Montreal's first blast of winter came Tuesday.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, 18 centimetres fell at Trudeau airport, and with another 2-5 expected before midnight and 3 more coming during the day on Wednesday, we're expected to go just a little bit over the original 20-centimetre forecast for this storm.
In addition, wind gusts approaching 70 kilometres an hour will blow all of it around for a little while longer.
Two storm systems, one coming in from the west and another coming up from the eastern U.S., are bringing all the snow. North and east of the city, snowfall totals are expected to be heavier, with some parts of the province, including Quebec City, expecting somewhere around 40 centimetres.
The city of Montreal says they deployed hundreds of snow-clearing vehicles to deal with the snowfall, but as is often the case, they had a tough time catching up with the falling and blowing snow, leaving many roads in bad shape.
Several reports surfaced of vehicles, particularly STM buses, having difficulty climbing hills. One STM bus had trouble turning at Cote-des-Neiges Rd. and sidewsiped a lamppost, blocking the road between Sherbrooke and Cedar for several hours.
Another STM bus struck a lamppost at the intersection of Langelier Blvd. and the Metropolitan service road. No passengers were aboard, and the driver was not hurt.
Details of a snow removal operation are expected to be announced shortly, and when they are, you'll have to watch out for those orange no parking signs.
More than 2,000 free parking spots will be made available in 21 parking lots during the snow removal operation, which will take anywhere from four days to a week.
Meanwhile, once this storm system moves out, an arctic air mass is expected to settle over Montreal for Thursday and Friday, bringing below-average temperatures, but lots of sunshine.
Another system coming in from the west is expected to bring flurries by the weekend, though no significant accumulations this time.