March break storm hammers Niagara

Blizzard conditions seemed to have passed for the most part in southwestern Ontario — but the snow is still falling. And that’s not all there is to be concerned about. A cold alert has been issued — because the windchill is once again expected to be in the minus twenties. It’s been a wild day on the roads — and travelers encounted more than 100 delays and cancellations at Pearson International Airport. There have also been a number of power outages in the Niagara and Hamilton region throughout the day. Police in the Niagara Peninsula responded to almost 100 collisions Wednesday.

A seven vehicle crash closed the 406 in Welland late Wednesday afternoon. A tow truck on the way to that call smashed into a fire truck and a city transit bus. Needless to say the roads are a mess. The morning commute across Niagara rapidly went from bad to worse.

The snow was coming down faster than the plows could move it. One driver said: “It’s really not very nice at all.”

Cars slammed into poles — vehicles crashed into the jersey barrier. There were a lot of drivers with frayed nerves waiting to be rescued this morning. One of the worst stretches was between Seventh and Grimsby. The driver of a Hyundai was rushed to hospital with a head injury when he hit the concrete.

Steve Burnett is with Robbins Towing: “People just drive way too fast for the road conditions, like with trucks that went into the ditch.”

A pickup jumped the ditch in Jordan and got stuck up an embankment. Drivers coming from Toronto early in the morning say the trip down the QEW was fine.

Another driver added: “Until you hit Hamilton. And then it deteriorates from there. Pretty windy.”

This is a blizzard — the winds are whipping the snow around — whiteouts are reducing visibility.

In southern Ontario we don’t receive blizzards very often. But this year we’ve been hit by two blizzards within a matter of weeks.

The snow hasn’t let up and neither have the calls for help from people who’ve just totalled their cars.

Steve said: “People shouldn’t be out if they don’t have to be. It’s just making our job difficult. Putting our lives at risk to get people out.

It’s still snowing heavily in Niagara Falls. The QEW through Grimsby is a skating rink, drivers are having trouble getting up Sandplant Hill so expect people to be a little late getting home.