Freezing rain causes road closures across the GTA
Posted February 29, 2012 5:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Freezing rain caused slippery conditions and road closures across Ontario on Wednesday evening, and may have been a factor in a fatal crash.
A man was pronounced dead in hospital after a single-vehicle crash in Clarington, near Oshawa, around 8 p.m. Ontario Provincial Police say the man apparently drove into a ditch on Highway 115. OPP say it’s not yet known if the crash was weather-related, but road conditions were poor at the time.
Highway 400 was closed between Highway 89 and Innisfil Beach Road for several hours on Wednesday night due to icy roads, OPP told CityNews. The highway re-opened around 10 p.m.
Highway 404 was also closed in both directions between Bloomington and Aurora following a collision. OPP Sgt. Dave Woodford said a vehicle was travelling north when the drive crossed the centre median and collided with a vehicle travelling south.
Motorists during the morning and evening commutes were faced a freezing rain warning. The alert covered a large portion of southwestern Ontario, including parts of the GTA.
Environment Canada issued the warning for a large area spanning from Sarnia up to the Barrie-Orillia area. Parts of the GTA, including Halton, Peel, York and Durham regions are also included. Toronto and Hamilton weren’t included.
“Ground temperatures are below freezing and will combine with cold easterly winds to set the stage for freezing rain lasting up to 4 to 6 hours as the main precipitation band moves from southwest to northeast through the area today and this evening,” the Environment Canada warning states.
The system —a Colorado low—is also responsible for some severe weather on Tuesday south of the border, including in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, where tornado sightings were reported. There are some thunderstorm risks for the Windsor area.
Porter Airlines, Air Canada, and WestJet are warning of possible delays and cancellations.
Check the latest forecast here.
And remember to check our Storm Centre for any weather-related cancellations.
