I'm moving to Montreal soon and was wondering if someone can tell me what the winter conditions are there. When is typically the first snow fall and when is typically the last day of snow fall? Are there a lot of days when it's pretty dry outside? Do they salt the roads there? Are you typically driving on no snow, light snow, or heavy snow? What about ice? Thanks.

 

I've never lived in Montreal myself, but I've travelled there plenty of times. I lived in Ottawa (1 hour away from Montreal) for 5 years or so and I now live in Toronto, and from my experience here's what you're looking at :
[ul][*] First snow fall : late october, to early november.[*] Last snow fall : late february, early march. [*] Although it does not get very dry, it is not extremely wet either. [*] They do salt the streets. Some places more than others, but generally in every city they do it.[*] It does get icy in Montreal, but as in most of eastern Ontario and western Quebec, it's not too common.[*] Driving on snow is not a big problem since after the initial snowfall, the cleanup crews are out there plowing the snow.
[/ul]

I'm not sure if you are from Canda or not, but you should know that unless you're very far north the typical Canadian winter is no different if you lived in Detroit, Chicago, or New York. Winter tires are typically used by people who are too worried, and most people get by with all-seasons just fine. This last year I didn't even change my old worn down tires, and did ok (not recommended). But a good undercoating of your car might be a good idea to protect from the salt.

 

Thanks. I'm actually from Chicago and I've been driving rear wheel drive cars in the snow here.

I just got an S4 to prepare for Montreal. When I visited, the roads were pretty bad - worse than chicago - lots of cracks and potholes - so I figured a touring sporty car would be more practical. My dilemna is that the S4 came with Blizzak ws50 and I prefer the Dunlop Winter Sport M3. Blizzaks are better for ice and more snow, but have soft sidewalls and large tread and would not be good for aggressive dry driving. The Winter Sports are great for light snow and dry and can handle high speeds and aggressive driving.

But the Winter Sports are $600 plus shipping and mounting. Just wondering to myself if it's worth it.

Thanks for giving me a pretty good idea of what to expect.