Those living in Ontario’s cottage country are still trying to dig themselves out of the historic snowfall over the weekend.
Gravenhurst, which is in the Muskoka region, was hit with 140 cm of snowfall and declared a state of emergency, which remains in place Monday morning.
Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada says the snow fall seen over the weekend is the most they have seen in the Muskoka region in almost 30 years.
“Some of these accumulations are definitely historic as we as we look back and in terms of some big events of past these amounts that we’re talking about, certainly rival many of the biggest storms we’ve ever had,” Coulson said.
All schools in Muskoka’s Trillium Lakelands District School Board are closed on Monday due to the extreme weather. Ontario Provincial Police is urging the public to stay home in the impacted area, and avoid travelling as Highway 11 remains closed.
Police say hundreds of vehicles and drivers became stranded on the highway over the weekend.
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Police warn that additional vehicles on the roads put occupants at risk, and add extra challenges for snow removal, but all obstructions have since been cleared.
Highway 11 remains closed between Highway 60 in Huntsville and West Street in Orillia as of 9 a.m. Monday but plows were seen working Monday to clear a way.
Ontario Provincial Police said they are working with the Ministry of Transportation toward reopening Highway 11 to traffic.
Police say the northbound lanes of Highway 11, from West St. Orillia is expected to reopen at approximately 12:00 p.m. The southbound lanes of Highway 11, from Highway 60 in Huntsville, is expected to reopen later in the afternoon.
Except for Luigi Road, all on and off ramps are cleared, police say.
The system that battered central Ontario has now moved southwest, with areas like Barrie, Collingwood, Port Elgin, Stratford, Woodstock, and London under snow squall warning, which is expected to last into Tuesday.
Environment Canada warns that some areas could see additional snowfalls between 20 to 50 cm, with near-zero visibility at home possible and power outages in some areas due to the weather.
Coulson said more bad weather is on the way headed into Wednesday, with widespread snowfall expected to hit southern Ontario.
“That’s the system coming in from the prairies and unfortunately, in the wake of that system on Thursday, it looks like more lake effect snow bands could set up again,” Coulson said. “Winter took a little while to get going in parts of southern Ontario this year, but it’s certainly making up for lost time.”
If it is necessary to travel in the areas impacted, police encourage motorists to use MTO’s Ontario 511 and Traveler Information Service for 24/7 and up-to-date access to road information on provincially maintained highways.
— With files from Global News Isaac Callan</em
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