Wicked winds and sleeting rain followed by wet snow wreaked havoc overnight in Orillia and surrounding environs.
All Simcoe County school buses have been cancelled in the wake of a wild early spring snowstorm.
City of Orillia plows were out in the wee hours, clearing the heavy, wet snow from most city streets. Orillia received about 15 cms of snow on the heels of 44 mms of rain.
But those left to their own devices, with shovels the weapon of choice, felt ill-suited for the battle against the heavy, wet white stuff.
Due to the storm event last night including high winds, some Township roads are currently closed. Please note the following closures:
— Twp. of Oro-Medonte (@TwpOroMedonte) April 4, 2024
Many people, especially in outlying areas, remain without power. And residents all over town had to endure flickering or brief power outages due to the winds that snapped many tree limbs and left traffic lights out amid carnage of branches and debris.
There was also some chaos on the roads — especially in the early evening hours as roads turned very slippery very quickly. There were multiple crashes and collisions on area roads all over the region; although no major incidents or injuries have been reported.
But today's storm is nothing to what happened in early April of 1970, when Orillia was inundated with more than 50 centimetres of snow over a three-day period, says local amateur weather watcher David Brain.
For those keeping track, spring officially began March 19 ... according to the calendar. Environment Canada says a winter weather advisory remains in effect, with more wet snow on the way this morning.
