Heavy Snowfall Disrupts Life in London Area

Emergency responders in southwestern Ontario were busy on Thursday, dealing with numerous accidents as a steady wave of snow squalls covered the region with up to 30 centimetres of snow, leading to many school closures.

The heavy snowfall that started Wednesday night continued throughout Thursday before tapering off in the afternoon, allowing yellow snow squall warnings to be lifted for most regions.

Some lake effect snow bands persisted into the early evening, affecting areas mainly northwest of London into southern Huron County, where a snow squall warning was still in effect as of 6:30 p. m.

In Toronto, reports indicated over 22 centimetres of snow from the same storm system, causing the majority of flights at Pearson Airport to be cancelled or significantly delayed. Several Air Canada flights between London and Toronto were called off, along with a West Jet flight heading to Calgary.

PHOTOS | Londoners hit with heavy snowfall:

“By this morning, we had some stations that reported 20 centimetres, locally up to 30 centimetres.. especially for areas west of London,” said Eric Tomlinson, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. He noted these figures were preliminary estimates.

“For areas west of London, we had north winds throughout the event. So embedded within the larger system was some lake enhancement just south of Lake Huron. It’s near Strathroy where we saw those higher amounts.”

Preliminary snowfall totals for areas east of London toward Woodstock ranged from 10 to 15 centimetres. More accurate figures are expected by Friday.

Environment Canada’s short-term forecast predicts an additional two centimetres will fall on Friday in London, followed by another two to four centimetres Friday evening.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit extended an extreme cold alert issued on Wednesday through Friday. Temperatures on Friday morning are projected to dip as low as -17 C in London but will feel like -24 C due to wind chill.

“The daily highs for this weekend will be closer to zero – around minus three or minus two,” Tomlinson explained. “As we move into next week, daily highs could reach around minus six and possibly drop down to minus ten on certain days.”

Caution on the roads

The Ontario Provincial Police spent Thursday addressing numerous weather-related accidents and incidents across southwestern Ontario.

A number of closures occurred throughout the day along local 400-series highways; most were cleared by 4 p. m. However, a westbound closure on Hwy. 401 in Chatham-Kent that began earlier remained until evening. Information about any injuries was not immediately available.

This was part of at least 217 collisions provincial police responded to between 9 p. m. Wednesday and 4 p. m. Thursday across West Region which spans from Windsor eastward toward Brantford and north up to Bruce Peninsula.

A variety of crashes involved vehicles ending up in ditches.

The London Fire Department helped a truck driver out of a ditch early Thursday after it got stuck on Hwy. 401 east before Pond Mills Rd.
A tractor trailer is seen on its side in the ditch along eastbound Hwy. 402 just west of Colonel Talbot Road next to a jackknifed tractor trailer which is off camera.

Digging out

Londoners spent much time clearing their driveways early in the day.

The winter weather had residents working hard with shovels and snowblowers to clear their sidewalks and driveways.

“We have to go by and make sure walkways are clear for buyers who come see the houses,” said Ken Patterson, a real estate broker from London who had several driveways he needed to tackle.

“Luckily, I got a new snow blower so I’m excited about using that!”

Patterson and other locals mentioned they appreciated how well city crews managed road clearance efforts, especially on major routes.

The harsh weather led both Thames Valley District School Board and London District Catholic School Board to cancel classes across London as well as Elgin, Middlesex, and Oxford counties for the day.
French-language school boards made similar decisions while elementary and high school students from nearby Lambton, Huron and Perth counties also enjoyed a snow day.
With no school today many families took advantage by playing outside in the fresh snow or going sledding.

“We’re planning on going inside after shovelling making cookies while enjoying hot chocolate,” shared one local mom Jen Mason with CBC London.”

A family heads off with their sled down Bonaventure Drive in London.

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