Spring-like weather to return after Mother Nature's winter blast

People across Simcoe County and Muskoka are in clean-up mode Thursday after Mother Nature whipped up a blast of winter.

Strong winds and freezing temperatures blanketed the region, wreaking havoc for waterfront property owners along Lake Simcoe.

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Andrew Arminen has a cottage on Georgina Island.

"You could hear the wind whistling and howling as ice was moving around and shifting. I guess it's pretty amazing when you look at the power of nature that you can see all this ice that's built up, you know, 20 feet of ice wall in front of your cottage, and you can't see the lake that you normally see," he said.

During the morning hours, residents from Innisfil to Collingwood and everywhere in between were digging out.

"The snow started coming down, and it was coming down heavy this morning. I couldn't believe it's got to be the most snow we've had all winter. The wind was so bad it was knocking two to three-inch thick branches off the trees," said Collingwood resident Ian Maclellan.

School buses were cancelled in many parts of the region for a second consecutive day.

The wildly changing weather is expected to continue, with temperatures climbing above freezing for the first week of March.

Still, Environment Canada's senior climatologist David Phillips advises keeping the shovels and winter jackets ready as spring hasn't sprung just yet.