Midwestern Ontario will continue to be hammered by snow and strong winds throughout the day on Thursday.
Environment Canada has the region under a snow squall warning with up to 20 centimetres of snowfall possible by the end of the day. The bands of squalls developed off Lake Huron after a cold front moved through the area Wednesday night. They are expected to continue through Thursday night.
In addition to the snow, winds will gust up to 70 km/h.
"Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow," Environment Canada said. "Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations."
Huron County, Bruce County, Grey County, Perth County and Georgian Bluffs have all declared significant weather events. The declaration does not mean services will be reduced, but is a notice to the public that it may take crews longer than normal to bring roads back to a state of repair. The declarations will remain in place until weather conditions improve.
The snow wreaked havoc on the morning commute with lots of minor collisions. Perth Line 86 between Perth Road 146 and Perth Road 136 east of Listowel was closed due to a fatal crash just after 6 a.m. A 33-year-old Gowanstown resident was killed when their vehicle collided with a plow. OPP continue to investigate and have not indicated when the busy stretch of road will be reopened. Highway 21 between Amberley and Tiverton is closed due to high winds, blowing snow, and poor-to-zero visibility.
For a fourth straight day, numerous school buses were cancelled and several schools closed across the region. The list can be found on our closures page by clicking here.
More snow is in the forecast for Friday. Environment Canada expects flurries to be heavy at times with a risk of more snow squalls. An additional 5 to 10 centimetres could fall by Friday night.
