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100,000 Montreal homes without power as temperatures plummet

Hydro-Québec is working to restore power after outage during polar vortex in Montreal.

Laura Osborne
Written by
Laura Osborne
Editor, Time Out Canada
Ice Storm
Photograph: Shutterstock/ Marc Bruxelle
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Just after the arrival of the polar vortex in Montreal, a power outage left approximately 100,000 homes in Montreal without electricity this morning.

The affected neighbourhoods stretched from St-Laurent to just before Pie-IX and from Bellechasse to Henri-Bourassa, impacting neighborhoods like Ahuntsic, Villeray, and Rosemont.

Over 50,000 Hydro-Québec customers remained without power at 9 a.m., and by 11 a.m., and by 12:30 p.m., the number had dropped to 9,500.

Hydro-Québec expects to restore power to all affected customers by around 2 p.m.

Storm
Photograph: Shutterstock / ND700

When will the polar vortex end?

Temperatures in Montreal today are forecasted to reach a high of -13°C, but the wind chill will make it feel like -24°C in the morning and -19°C in the afternoon.

By evening, temperatures will drop to around -21°C, with wind chill pushing it to feel like -28°C overnight.

On Wednesday, similar conditions are expected, with a high of -13°C. 

However, the wind chill could make it feel as cold as -31°C in the morning and -22°C in the afternoon.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has issued a frostbite risk warning.

What caused the power outage?

According to a Hydro-Québec spokesperson, the power outage was caused by equipment failure at one of its substations.

For more updates from the Weather Network, click here.

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