Taking our memories back, 50 years ago, Quebec was hit by a storm famously referred to as the storm of the century. In 1971, Montreal and its surroundings for days were paralyzed by snow that covered the city.
Within 24 hours, the city was covered by a 45 centimeters snow blanket with even heavier snowfall off the island. The wind blew at over 100 kilometers per hour, making people abandon their cars in the street.
Power was lost for over a week while 30 people were reported dead in the province. Those old enough to remember the day say it is something they can’t forget. One woman said that the storm was so severe that they couldn’t go to the hospital due to accessibility issues. Other people had to abandon their cars and swap for snowmobiles.
Today Montreal is better equipped to handle a storm of similar severity. The city has, however, received comparable snowfalls in 2008 and 2012. In 2008, there was so much snow that the city ran out of place to dumb it. In 2012, there was so much snowfall with a thickness record similar to that of 1970. A severer storm also occurred in 2017 in Quebec, which left people stranded for hours.
