Afters multiple days of treacherous winter weather, the significant weather event declared by the Municipality of Lakeshore on Friday has been lifted.
Communities across the province were hit by a winter storm over Christmas weekend that led to thousands of power outages, road closures, cancelled flights, vehicle collisions, and stranded drivers. Heavy snowfall combined with icy roads and powerful winds to create dangerous and destructive weather conditions. Countless motorists were left with zero visibility and limited control due to drifting snow and slippery roads.
Lakeshore was under a winter storm warning leading up to the weekend, but on Friday afternoon, the actual conditions prompted Environment Canada to upgrade the alert to a blizzard warning. Just a few hours later, the municipality declared a significant weather event and advised all residents to avoid unnecessary travel.
The significant weather event was in place from December 23 - 26. Around 3 p.m., Lakeshore issued a statement saying the significant weather event was over.
"With the worst of the winter weather event behind us, we’re back to our regular snow clearing and salting operations,” said Krystal Kalbol, Lakeshore’s corporate leader - operations. “We appreciate everyone who did what they could to keep roads clear, as well as our dedicated team members who worked tirelessly throughout the weather event.”
Many communities throughout Ontario took similar steps to deal with this past weekend's gruelling winter weather. Nearby, Chatham-Kent went as far as to declare a state of emergency as hundreds of motorists were left stranded in the area.
