Water from the rain and melting snow filled roadways and low lying areas across the region on Sunday, as temperatures climbed ahead of an approaching storm.
“I wanted to come out earlier than we did,” says Collingwood resident Rob Manton. “It was pouring rain when we got up, it was really windy then it cleared up the sun came out for a good two hour period the radar was clear,”
Environment Canada issued a wind warning and snow squall warnings for much of Simcoe County and continued to update weather warnings throughout the day.
“There's a huge storm it takes up all of North America from the Gulf right up to here,” said Anne Bannon.
Blizzard conditions were expected to develop with snow squalls and wind gusts up to 100 km/h.
Parts of the province felt the effects of the Storm early on Sunday. Hydro One reported power outages early on in the day, affecting more than 20,000 customers.
"Our crews are ready to respond, we have been moving materials around to make sure we have poles in place or additional wire in order to bring that equipment back online quickly as possible," said Nancy Clark.
Local fire departments were also ready to respond to downed wires and other emergencies that might come up.
Officials say every household should have an emergency kit and a plan in place.
“Everybody has a 72-hour survival kit which includes water, clothing, food, gas, extra money,” said Dan Thurman with the Collingwood Fire Department.
Sunday’s blizzard warning was the first issued for Simcoe County this winter.
Environment Canada recommends postponing any unessential travel tonight.
