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
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.