Heavy Snow and Winds Cause Road Closures in Huron and Perth

Several counties north of London remained under blizzard warnings Monday evening as heavy snowfall and strong winds continued to hit the area, resulting in whiteout conditions on local roads.

Environment Canada issued an orange weather warning for multiple regions east of Lake Huron, including Huron and Perth counties, extending north toward the Bruce Peninsula. Orange alerts indicate severe weather that could lead to significant damage or disruption.

A yellow snow squall warning stayed active early Monday night for Oxford County, including Woodstock.

“This is being driven by very strong and gusting winds from the west, causing not only intense bursts of falling snow but also blowing snow and some pretty cold temperatures,” Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson said.

Blizzard conditions were set to persist into the evening, with snow squalls continuing throughout the night, according to an updated warning released Monday afternoon. Westerly wind gusts reaching up to 80 km/h and snowfall totals between 15 to 25 cm were expected.

“Through the evening hours, conditions are still expected to be poor.. a combination of snow and blowing snow. Conditions should start improving later tonight in those areas as the winds begin to lessen,” Coulson mentioned in the early afternoon.

“It’s a similar situation for places under a yellow level warning.. Those areas should gradually see some improvement as winds decrease somewhat,” he added, noting that snow squall warnings would likely remain in effect until Tuesday morning.

More snowfall is anticipated on Wednesday across southwestern Ontario.

Hwy. 8 just west of Seaforth as seen on an MTO traffic camera. A short distance further west, OPP closed a section of Hwy. 4 from Clinton to Exeter. (Ontario Ministry of Transportation)

Difficult driving conditions on roads throughout Huron and Perth prompted both counties to declare significant weather events Monday afternoon.

“These types of winter events may affect the county’s ability to maintain county roads at the service level that road users would normally expect,” Perth officials stated.

This declaration under the Ontario Municipal Act suspends standard timelines required for municipalities to meet winter maintenance goals, they added.

“Please note that this does NOT indicate a closure of any road or an imminent closure of any road,” Huron County officials said in a statement. Individual road closures are determined by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), it noted.

“However, residents are urged to stay home and avoid driving unless travel is necessary when a significant weather event is declared.”

London Sets Up Warming Centre

Along with heavy snowfall and winds, Environment Canada says temperatures could feel like -27 C overnight across southwestern Ontario.

An extreme cold alert issued by the Middlesex-London Health Unit was extended on Monday into Tuesday morning.

The City of London announced that since wind chill values are below -20 C, a temporary overnight warming centre will open at Boyle Memorial Community Centre from 9 p. m. to 9 a. m., providing indoor warming space for up to 60 people.

“As part of our response efforts, select local service providers will open additional warming spaces to help increase capacity,” the city reported.

Both Ark Aid Street Mission and London Cares confirmed their extra overnight warming spaces have been operational since late last week.

Poor Weather Leads To Road Closures

A number of rural roads remained shut down as of Monday evening by OPP due to adverse weather conditions.

In Perth County, OPP closed part of Hwy. 23 from Mitchell to Listowel through the afternoon due to whiteout conditions and heavy drifting.



Wellington Road 86 was also shut down east of Listowel towards Macton.

Soon after 6 p. m., Huron County OPP closed a section of Hwy. 4 from just north of Exeter to just south of Clinton because of poor weather.A stretch of Hwy. 23 north of Mitchell remained closed by OPP due to whiteout conditions and drifting snow,</.(Ontario Ministry  of Transportation).....

Error!. Weather warnings persisted into Tuesday morning. Environment Canada recommends avoiding travel during these conditions and advises anyone planning trips should have an emergency plan ready. Earlier today after all cleared off-the-westbound lanes-off-Hwy-401-were-closed-for-a-period-of-time-during-the-morning-commute-between-Woodstock-and-Ingersoll-due-to-a-collision-Police-reported-a-closure-on-the-westbound402-at-glendon-drive-citing-multiple-disabled vehicles-and-poor-conditions. Both problems-have-since-been-resolved.-(Ontario Ministry Of Transportation)

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