Southern Quebec hit with April snowfall

Southern Quebec was hit by a late-season snowfall Tuesday morning.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement Monday evening announcing heavy, wet snowfor the island ofMontreal, Laval, Longueuil, and ChteauguayLaprairieareas.

A major weather system from the U.S. East Coast is behind the blanket of snow across the greater Montreal region, according to the weather agency. Temperatures will stayclose to the freezing mark throughout the day.

Environment Canadaadviseddrivers to be careful on the slippery roads.

But having snow in Montreal at this time of year isn't unusual, saidAndr Cantin, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

"Every, let's say five to 10 years, we may receive a fair amount of snow at the end of April so it's not something we've never seen," he said."The spring has a lot of time to settle over the province."

Just last year, on April 21, Montreal receivedfive centimetres of snow.

In 2007, the city saw around 27 centimetres of snow from April 15 to 17, with the bulk of it 18 centimetres falling on April 15.

Around 15 centimetres fell on the Montreal region, but with the ground being warm, only about six to eight centimetres accumulated.

Wednesday'sforecast is looking a bit brighter with a forecast of eight degrees for Montreal.