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.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Canada's GDP rises amid expert fears of rate-hike recession
Canada's GDP rose 0.2 per cent in February, driven by a rebound in transportation and warehousing, which saw the largest recorded month-to-month rise in over a year at 1.4 per cent.
'Fatalities' reported following wrong-way collision on Highway 401, SIU called in: police
Ontario's Special Investigations Unit has been called in following a deadly wrong-way collision on Highway 401 in Whitby on Monday night, say police.
NEW Is there a cost to convenience? Canada approves new cancer immunotherapy treatment
A new cancer treatment recently approved in Canada promises to cut treatment time down to just minutes, but experts have differing opinions on whether it's what's best for patients.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
Canada's new dental program offering hope of free care to millions but many dentists aren't signed up
A new Canadian dental care program is offering the hope of free care to millions, but while 1.7 million people have signed up for the plan, only about 5,000 dentists have done the same.
Province boots mayor and council in small northern Ont. town out of office
An ongoing municipal strike, court battles and revolt by half of council has prompted the province to oust the mayor and council in Black River-Matheson.
Winner of US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot is an immigrant from Laos who has cancer
One of the winners of a historic US$1.3 billion Powerball jackpot last month is an immigrant from Laos who has had cancer for eight years and had his latest chemotherapy treatment last week.
King Charles III returns to public duties with a trip to a cancer charity
King Charles III returned to public duties on Tuesday, visiting a cancer treatment charity and beginning his carefully managed comeback after the monarch's own cancer diagnosis sidelined him for three months.
NDP says Ottawa's new grocery task force isn't living up to government promises
The federal government says the task force it created to monitor and investigate grocery retailers' practices has not conducted any probes and doesn't have a mandate to take enforcement action.