Commemorating Montreal’s 200-vehicle pile-up, from sunshine to whiteout

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by The Weather Network’s Chris Mei featuring stories about people, communities and events and how the weather has affected them.

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At approximately 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, approximately 200 vehicles were involved in a massive collision on Highway 15 at La Prairie in Montreal, Que. The accident was so bad that it was covered by The New York Times.

These are difficult articles to write, but this event can be used as a cautionary tale.

It was a sunny day in Montreal.

It didn’t snow that Wednesday, but there was a lot of snow on the ground. And on the Saint Lawrence River.

Highway 15 runs through western Quebec and part of it hugs the St. Lawrence River. On this sunny day, the vehicles drove at a maximum motorway speed of around 100 km/h.

But then strong gusts of wind blew snow from the St. Lawrence River across the highway, creating whiteout conditions for drivers.

Of the 200 vehicles involved in the accident, only 50 were able to drive away.

One of the vehicles involved in the accident was a tank truck. The tank burst and diesel spilled all over the street. Because of this, rescue workers had difficulty accessing all vehicles quickly.

Firefighters used hydraulic cutters on at least nine vehicles to free people trapped inside.

Around 150 people were taken from the scene of the accident to a community center to have their health checked.

Three local hospitals have been forced into an emergency as they were overwhelmed with the dozens of patients they received after the accident.

The accident resulted in two deaths.

The highway was plowed and clear of snow. Driving conditions were fine until they weren’t. A reminder of how quickly winter driving conditions can change.

To learn more about the Highway 15 accident, listen to tonight’s episode of This Day In Weather History.

Thumbnail courtesy of CBC

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