It was a snow day for thousands of students across Bruce and Grey County Friday.
“I was very excited,” said Norah, Mavis and Kate, who were out shovelling driveways in Walkerton on Friday.
“Jumped out of bed and made some snow angels. My mom woke me up, and couldn’t fall back asleep, I was so happy.”
The downside of a snow day is that it probably means a lot of snow fell, and that snow needs someone to move it out of the driveway.
Kids digging out driveways in Walkerton, Ont. on Nov. 29, 2024 following an overnight snowfall. (Scott Miller/ Windsor)
“This morning, I was like, oh my God, because it was the first day of snow. So, I was really excited, but at the same time I wasn’t, because I knew I would have to shovel the driveway,” said Mackenzie, Cassidy, and Charlie, shovelling driveways just a street over.
There’s a pretty good chance there’s more shoveling in the future for residents of Midwestern Ontario. The forecast calls for up to 100 centimetres of snow for parts of the region.
Snow squalls will persist through the weekend, which means getting from place to place may not be as easy it was a just a few days ago.
Emergency officials said a bit of preparation can go a long way to ensuring you make it to your destination safely.
“We want to make sure that you’ve got your vehicle topped up with gas. Make sure your tires have ample tread. If you don’t go with snow tires, make sure you have a good all-season tire,” said Huron County OPP Const. Craig Soldan.
“If you have a cell phone, make sure it’s charged up, bring a charge cord with you. All those things, even a winter blanket, and a couple of snacks in the car.”
Significant weather events have already been declared for all of Bruce County and parts of Grey, as the weekend of wintery weather approaches.
Traffic driving through snowy conditions in Walkerton, Ont. on Nov. 29, 2024. (Scott Miller/ London)
Emergency Response Teams across the region meet regularly to prepare for such scenarios.
“We actually had that meeting [Friday], so we’re planning just in the event that this is a bad snowstorm. Hopefully it doesn’t amount to much, but it could,” said Soldan.
“So, we’re just preparing and planning and getting ready just in case.”
In the meantime, residents in Walkerton are digging out as the snow continues to fall.
“No. I wasn’t ready for it. But hopefully it doesn’t stick around, so I don’t have to do this every day,” said one Walkerton homeowner, whose snowblower wouldn’t start for him.
You can also be like Norah, Mavis and Kate, and turn snow filled driveways into an opportunity to complete good deeds.
“We’re shoveling snow out of people’s driveways just out of the kindness of our hearts,” said Mavis.
“Some people can’t do it, so we just kind of wanted to help out, and also kind of wanted to do it.”
