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Freezing rain, snow hit parts of Eastern Canada

Drivers awoke to snow and freezing rain on the streets of Montreal on Monday.

A pre-winter storm brought a combination of freezing rain, rain and snow to parts of Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick today.

In Ottawa, the freezing rain led the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and the Ottawa Catholic School Board to cancel bus service, although schools remain open.

Flight delays and cancellations were reported in Ottawa and Montreal.

Many of the freezing rain warnings from Environment Canada that covered much of central and eastern Ontario early Monday were gradually lifted as temperatures slowly rose above the freezing mark. The Ottawa area was expected to see the freezing rain transition to rain.

According to Environment Canada, about 10 millimetres of precipitation fell in Montreal overnight. The freezing rain was expected to turn to drizzle before noon and strong winds should diminish.

The low-pressure system will clear Monday evening and make its way to northeastern Quebec, where five to 10 millimetres of rain are expected.

Some parts of central Quebec could see up to 20 centimetres of snow throughout the day.

The storm warnings come a few days ahead of Quebec's deadline this Saturday for drivers of passenger vehicles and taxis registered in the province to install winter tires. The tires must remain on their vehicles until March 15, or drivers could face fines between $200 and $300.

In New Brunswick, the storm was forecast to drop snow before several hours of freezing rain began

"Rainfall amounts of 20 to 40 millimetres are expected in the south by Tuesday morning with locally higher amounts possible," Environment Canada said.

The storm moved through southern Ontario overnight, causing some treacherous driving conditions. Southbound Highway 400 was closed for several hours just north of Toronto.

The same weather system dumped 25 centimetres of snow — the most in two years — in Minneapolis, Minn., leading officials to declare a snow emergency. Another 15 cm of snow were expected Monday.