A wild winter: CAA-Quebec in 10 figures
This year winter has been throwing everything it can at us—most of it snow, but with a good dose of ice and freezing rain mixed in! And have you noticed that the cold is like a houseguest who’s overstayed their welcome? Here are 10 figures that tell the story of our wild winter.
3 groundhogs with different stories to tell
The three groundhogs who are supposed to predict the arrival of spring—Wiarton Willie, Shubenacadie Sam, and Fred la marmotte—added to the craziness by predicting different things. Let’s just say that meteorologists are generally more reliable. André Monette with MétéoMédia expects that spring weather will arrive around mid-March.
He says that winter 2018–2019 has been pretty unusual. “We haven’t had many long stretches of cold or mild temperatures. It’s been more like a rollercoaster. That creates lots of ice, which is bad news for sidewalks and streets.”
286,000 services provided
From December 1 to February 28th, CAA-Quebec patrollers responded to 286,000 service calls across Quebec, or about 3,150 breakdowns a day on average. That’s down a bit from last winter, which was exceptionally cold, but much more than two years ago.
“Winter conditions set in very early and never stopped. And neither did we,” said Pierre-Serge Labbé, CAA-Quebec Vice President, Automotive Services. “I’m very proud of our patrollers and affiliates, who worked hard throughout the winter in difficult conditions. Getting vehicles unstuck from the snow or ice is no small feat, and we had lots of requests for that type of service.”
22 peak demand days
Roadside assistance saw 22 peak demand days this winter—a three-year high. Up to 1,200 service vehicles can be dispatched on such days.
10,600 services
That’s how many services were provided on Monday, January 21, the busiest day of the winter. But the all-time record of 14,600 services provided on January 8, 2015, still stands. You know the routine: snowstorm, thaw that leads to lake-size puddles, deep freeze that turns puddles to skating rinks.
32 minutes
Average wait time for roadside assistance service in cities this winter. This puts CAA-Quebec in fourth place among CAA/AAA clubs in North America.
338 cm of snow
That’s how much fell in Quebec City in December, January, and February. There’s still March and April, and total snowfall is already higher than average for a full winter (303 cm).
15 thaws in Montreal
Thaws mean potholes. And potholes mean car repair. Mechanics, body shops, and parts suppliers had their hands full. “The streets are in bad shape. We see a trend: For the past two Februarys we’ve had a good volume of rim repairs and blown tires,” said the retail network manager at Pneus André Touchette, a CAA-Approved Auto Repair Service Location in Montreal.
“With 150 mm of rain (versus an average of 87 mm), it’s the second rainiest winter in Montreal history,” said MétéoMédia’s André Monette.
15 days below -25°C
Mr. Monette says that’s not unusual for Quebec. But it does mean a lot of frigid mornings and a lot of cars that refuse to start.
5 pileups in the headlines since late January
The SAAQ reports no fewer than 56 pileups per winter on average, but the five that made recent headlines were of epic proportions. Coincidentally or not, the number of totalled vehicles salvaged by members of Association des recycleurs de pièces d'autos et de camions peaked in the middle of winter, particularly in the Lanaudière, Eastern Townships, Quebec City, and Laurentides regions, according to CEO Simon Matte.
12% increase in sales of CAA-Quebec Travel packages to southern destinations
When winter is raging, many travellers decide they’re allergic to the cold and need to fly south for treatment. The bitter cold of the previous winter caused an 8% spike in sales of southern destination packages. Sales climbed an additional 4% this winter.