A blast of winter weather delivered a "rude awakening" to parts of Ontario, an Environment Canada meteorologist said, as some communities dug out from nearly a metre of snow on Saturday with more in the forecast.
Snow blowing off the Great Lakes closed a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway in northern Ontario, knocked out power to more than 30,000 customers and buried some communities under piles of heavy snow.
The snowfall and hazardous road conditions were "a very rude awakening" after Ontario's mild autumn, said operational meteorologist Brent Linington.
"It's a pretty big flip of the switch to go from the nice fall that we had to see the snowfall that we're getting now," he said in an interview.
Communities on the shores of lakes Superior and Huron felt the brunt of the storm and remained under a snow squall warning Saturday. Areas around Niagara Falls and Kingston were also under lake-effect snow squall watches.
Bracebridge and Sault Ste. Marie, two of the hardest hit areas, were digging out from around 89 and 80 centimetres, respectively, Linington said. Both areas were bracing for another 40 to 50 centimetres of snow on Saturday.
Sault Ste. Marie resumed transit and community centre operations Saturday after shuttering them Friday because of the storm, an update on the city's website said.
Hydro One, the provincial utility, said its crews were working to restore power to more than 30,000 customers, mostly in hard-hit central Ontario, around Bracebridge and Parry Sound.
"Our crews are working as quickly as possible to restore power," said Pooja Dawani, a Hydro One spokesperson.
The disruptions extended to some of the province's major roadways. Ontario Provincial Police say Highway 17, also known as the Trans-Canada, was closed between Wawa and Sault Ste. Marie due to whiteout conditions.
In a statement issued Saturday afternoon, OPP said a stretch of Highway 11 was also closed south of Gravenhurst toward Orillia and police were "strongly" advising people to stay off the roads. Snow squall warnings for the area warned that 50 centimetres could accumulate by Sunday afternoon.
A bulletin from Environment Canada said the Kingston area could see between 20 and 30 centimetres of snow through Sunday night. Niagara Falls, meanwhile, could get upwards of 15 centimetres.
While the storm is expected to taper off across Ontario by Sunday night, more winter weather is on the way.
Linington, the Environment Canada meteorologist, said a broad brush of snow is forecasted for mid-week before another potential blast of lake-effect snow next weekend.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2024
Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press