Winter Weather Descends on Sudbury, Roads Affected

After a slow start to the winter the storms have finally hit Sudbury and Northern Ontario, with winter weather conditions now befalling the city. The weekend saw heavy snowfall across the northern regions of the province and there have been consequences with school bus runs closing and weather warnings in the Greater Sudbury area.

Temperatures are expected to routinely plunge below -10 C and even lower than -20 C for the remainder of the week, causing havoc on the highways. All major highways are now snow covered so slow and steady driving is advised for all vehicles, even those equipped with snow tires. Highways 17, 11, and 101 are all closed for varying reasons, while the following school buses were cancelled today and are expected to remain as such tomorrow:

• Cancelled for West Parry Sound, East Parry Sound, North Bay, West Nipissing, Mattawa;
• Cancelled for Conseil Ccolaire Catholique des Grandes-Rivières for Ramore, Iroquois Falls and Cochrane. Schools remain open;
• Cancelled for all four school boards from Kirkland Lake to Temagami, inclusing Timmins. Schools remain open except for Temagami, Kearns and Elk Lake;
• School buses cancelled in Moosonee — public school remains open.

The drastic change in conditions over the weekend saw all roads become treacherous. The winter had been uncommonly mild so far, with most snowmobile trails in Ontario closed two weeks after the traditional start of the season. However, last weekend finally saw the Canadian winter grip Sudbury and surrounding towns, and the police were forced to give routine alerts for deteriorating road conditions.

Police say motorists are adhering to proper driving protocol and that only two minor collisions have been reported by early morning on Monday. Drivers are reminded to drive more cautiously than normal and to leave themselves greater breaking distances when trailing other vehicles or approaching intersections.