UPDATED Jan. 31
States of emergency in two communities in Dufferin County have been lifted.
Orangeville and East Garafraxa are no longer under a state of emergency. At this time, the rest of the county remains under the advisory.
Most county roads are open, and it's hoped all will be open by this evening. Many secondary raods are still blocked, however.
Another update is expected later this afternoon.
Updated from the story below
Officials in Dufferin, Grey and Bruce counties are reporting more road closures late Thursday night, as high winds and changing conditions continue to produce blinding whiteouts across the region.
Bruce County has pulled its plows from the road for the night and will resume snow clearing first thing in the morning, because of zero visibility.
Grey County was also reporting new road closures within the city of Owen Sound late Thursday evening.
CTV Weather Specialist Bob McIntyre says an analysis of the weather models at 10:15pm on Thursday shows the same conditions that have caused road closures through the day can be expected overnight and into Friday morning.
He says strong winds off Georgian Bay and Lake Huron will continue to cause blowing snow and drifts throught the night not only south of Georgian Bay, but also in the Parry Sound and Muskoka areas to the east of the Bay.
A state of emergency remained in effect for Dufferin County late Thursday evening due to the weather and poor road conditions. Officials were planning another update on the situation for 5:30am.
Open roads across the region were a challenge all across Dufferin County on Thursday. Oversized snowbanks, blowing snow and snow drifts caused all kinds of problems for anyone trying to get anywhere.
Several busy roads remained closed on Thursday as crews continue to try and clear the snow drifts away. But that didn’t stop dozens of people from trying to drive through closed roads.
Schools were closed for the day as well and police say many of the roads will remain closed until snowbanks are cutback. That work is expected to begin on Friday.
Snow plow drivers have been going around the clock all week, many of them reaching the 13 hour maximum per day they are allowed behind the wheel. The state of emergency is allowing Dufferin County to call in drivers from other areas to help out.
Dufferin County Warden Bill Hill tells CTV News the state of emergency will stay in place for now but the decision to keep it in place will be made on a day-to-day basis. Hill is asking residents to be patient and stay off closed roads until further notice.
