Montreal is struggling to recover after a brutal spring storm hammered the city and other parts of southern Quebec with freezing rain on Wednesday, causing ice-covered tree branches to crash into power lines, streets and cars.

According to Environment Canada, between 20 mm and 25 mm of ice accumulated on trees and buildings during the storm.

Hydro-Québec says it has restored power to more than half a million customers since the ice storm, but more than 600,000 remain in the dark.

The storm also impacted parts of eastern Ontario. Hydro One says roughly 65,000 customers in eastern Ontario are still without power, and Hydro Ottawa says another 16,000 of its customers are in the dark.

On social media, Montreal residents shared extraordinary images and videos of a frozen city drawn to a halt by the ferocity of the storm.

The weather in Montreal has since improved, with temperatures above zero expected throughout the long weekend.

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