Thousands of Hydro One customers in Ontario lost power after a snowstorm hit parts of the province on Friday evening.
The storm brought nearly 90 centimetres of snow to some areas, with more expected to fall on Sunday.
Hydro One said it is working to turn the lights back on for customers who lost power due to the heavy, wet snow.
“Hydro One crews are working as quickly and safely as possible to restore power to customers affected by high winds and snow fall that started Friday evening in parts of Central Ontario,” a notice on the company’s website said.
“We have mobilized crews from other parts of the province along with our contractors to assist with restoration efforts as more snow is expected to continue through the weekend and may cause additional outages as it accumulates on trees, lines and equipment.”
However, there were no indications when power could be back on, with Hydro One saying that an estimate was provided for each incident after damage had been assessed.
Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) says that snow squalls are expected to continue to impact the area into Dec. 1. Snowfall is expected to exceed 50 centimetres by the afternoon of Dec. 1.
Snowfall can reach five to 10 centimetres per hour during peak storm times, ECCC said.
It also advised that there would be very poor to zero visibility at times due to the heaviness of the snow, and local blowing snow.
Those around Lake Superior and Huron were hardest hit by the storm, with the snow squall warning remaining in effect. Niagara Falls and Kingston were also under snow squall watches.
Sault Ste. Marie and Bracebridge received 80 and 89 centimetres of snow respectively. A further 40 to 50 centimetres was expected.
Ontario Provincial Police said the storm caused the Trans Canada Highway (Highway 17) to be closed between Sault Ste. Marie and Wawa due to whiteout conditions.
