Days of heavy winter weather are taking their toll on people living in south-central Ontario as highways and schools are closed and communities try to dig out.
Blowing snow made it virtually impossible to navigate on highways throughout much of the area. Police and highway department officials in Bruce and Grey counties closed five highways and almost every country road over night as more of the white stuff fell.
Since Sunday, more than a metre of snow has fallen throughout the area.
Places such as Owen Sound, Kincardine, Saugeen Shores, the Bruce Peninsula and Meaford were practically cut off as the roadways were closed.
Much of Hwy. 21, which runs parallel to the shore of Lake Huron, was shut down as well on Friday.
Also buried under snow and closed to traffic were:
- Country Road 4;
- Grey Road 7; and
- Grey Road 124 from Singhampton to Shelburne.
Highway 6 from Durham to Chatsworth and Hwy. 9 from Walkerton to Harristron were also closed to traffic on Friday because visibility had been reduced to nothing.
Several schools throughout the area were also closed and school bus service in many of the areas was cancelled.
Ontario Provincial Police asked drivers to stay off the roads if they did not need to be out.
Police also asked people who do get behind the wheel to drive slowly and leave extra space between vehicles.
With files from The Canadian Press
