WATCH ABOVE: Blowing snow, poor visibility, and black ice are creating havoc on the roads in parts of southern and eastern Ontario. Cindy Pom reports.
TORONTO – Intense blowing snow stopped approximately 420 motorists in their tracks Friday night, forcing them to seek refuge in nearby shelters.
“We had blowing snow… motorists in right the road,” said Pam Hillock, county clerk for Dufferin County.
Rescued motorists were taken to warming centres in Orangeville, Shelburne and Honeywood late Friday night and early Saturday morning.
WATCH: Roads across southern Ontario covered in heavy amounts of snow
Some didn’t even make it to their cars.
Shelburne Arena patrons had to spend the night after most of the roads leaving Shelburne were closed.
Approximately 140 people remain in the shelters, though there are still some motorists stranded on the road.
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Hillock said that Ontario Provincial Police are working to rescue motorists still stranded on Highway 124.
Meanwhile, police say weather was a factor in a fatal crash late Friday night on Highway 26 north of Stayner.
The OPP say two people were killed and four others were taken to hospital with serious injuries in the two-vehicle collision.
Westbound lanes of Highway 401 in Oxford County were closed Saturday morning after a multi-vehicle collision involving four tractor-trailers.
Police say there were no serious injuries.
Environment Canada says an Arctic low pressure system moving through much of southern Ontario on Saturday will bring strong winds and local snowfall of around 5 to 10 centimetres.
It says gusts of wind could hit 80 km/h in some places, which combined with the snow will drop visibility to 500 metres or less, mainly in open areas outside big cities.
Dufferin County Road Closures (UPDATE: 2:37 p.m. ET)
- County Road 124 closed (likely for a substantial period of time)
- Highway 89 open (east of Shelburne only)
- Highway 10 open (south of Shelburne for stranded motorists only, closed northbound of Orangeville)
- County Road 11, 12, 19 closed
With files from The Canadian Press
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