Snow and blowing snow has crippled much of midwestern Ontario.
Road conditions from the wintry weather were so severe on Monday, Bruce County and Perth East were forced to pull snow plows from the roads. They were scheduled to be redeployed as of 4 a.m. on Tuesday. While work to clear snow resumed, numerous roads remained closed including Highway 21 from Grand Bend to Port Elgin, all county-managed roadways in Bruce Country, and all rural roads in Saugeen Shores.
Stranded and abandoned vehicles are making progress difficult for snow removal crews, according to officials in Bruce County.
School buses were cancelled in Huron-Perth, Grey-Bruce, and Wellington County. The Avon Maitland District School Board, the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board, the Bluewater District School Board, and the Upper Grand District School Board closed all schools and board offices for the day.
The extensive road closures and the treacherous weather conditions, also led the South Bruce Grey Health Centre to close the Chesley Emergency Department for the day on Tuesday. Ambulances are being diverted to the nearest open emergency departments and anyone in need of non-urgent care in the area are being advised to call Health Connect Ontario at 811. The Chesley emergency department will be reopened at 7 a.m. on Wednesday.
A full list of closures and cancellations can be found on the CKNXNewsToday.ca closures page.
More snow is forecast to fall throughout the day Tuesday. How much you will see depends on where you are in midwestern Ontario. Environment Canada has a winter weather travel advisory in place for North Huron County and North Perth County, a snow squall warning in effect for Bruce County, Grey County and North Wellington County, and a blowing snow advisory for South Huron County and South Perth County.
Areas under the travel advisory can expect to receive an additional 5 to 10 centimetres of snow throughout the day with near zero visibility at times.
Snow squalls could drop 15 to 25 centimetres on the Bruce Peninsula and North Grey, 40 to 70 centimetres on South Grey and South Bruce, and 10 to 15 centimetres on North Wellington through Tuesday night.
Areas with a blowing snow advisory in place will get roughly 2 to 4 centimetres by the end of the day.
Police continue to ask those who can to stay home until conditions improve. For those who do choose to drive, OPP are reminding of the importance of clearing all snow and ice from your vehicle.
"Seeing several vehicles this morning traveling down the highway failing to clear off the top of their vehicles. That ice and snow is now blowing off and landing on other vehicles coming down the roadway which can potentially cause a hazard or even worse a crash," Sergeant Ed Sanchuk said in a video posted on social media. "We are just asking everyone to take an extra five minutes to clean off their vehicle entirely."
Sanchuk also stressed the importance of carrying an emergency kit in your vehicle in the event you break down or become stranded.