Old man winter has hammered the region since Boxing Day – including with a record-setting snowfall – and then saturated roads with ice and with more bad weather on the way, the Municipality of Port Hope has issued a significant weather event declaration.
Port Hope isn’t alone. Several nearby communities have also issued similar declarations.
Port Hope officials said the declaration was needed due to a combination of heavy rains, flash freeze, and heavy ice build-up concerns. With poor conditions expected to continue into today (Monday, Dec. 29) and more snow on the way, as well as possible ice pellets and blowing snow later, road and sidewalk cleanup will be ongoing.
Such declarations are issued when municipalities may not be able to meet maintenance standards for roads and sidewalks due to treacherous conditions, and in this instance, icy conditions. Officials are urging all motorists, pedestrians, and residents to use extra caution during travels.
As always, local authorities and weather officials also suggest avoiding any non-essential travel until conditions improve.
Port Hope crews will continue to monitor weather systems and road conditions, clear fallen trees and reopen roadways, with priority given to high-risk locations and carry on with road treatments, which includes salt and sand/salt mixtures, explained municipal staff.
In other words, the declaration doesn’t change how or when crews tackle winter maintenance operations – it just may take staff longer than usual to bring roads and sidewalks back to a state of safe passage amid difficult conditions, added staff.
The declaration remains in effect until conditions improve to safely resume standard roadway maintenance operations, and an official notice will be issued when the declaration is called off.
At press deadline, while some previous Environment Canada warnings about freezing rain and rainfall have now fallen off, a wind warning remains in effect for the western portion of Northumberland and the eastern portion, as well as the Quinte areas for those commuting.
Environment Canada’s forecast confidence is “high” in this regard. Strong southwesterly and westerly wind gusts of up to 80 to 90 km/h are anticipated Monday. And in areas near Lake Ontario, wind gusts could get up to 100 km/h.
The wind gusts are anticipated to start this morning as a strong cold front moves through the area and are supposed to ease this evening. Environment Canada said the strongest wind gusts are expected near Lake Ontario this afternoon.
Officials warned that local utility outages are possible, as well as property-related damage (i.e. damages to roofs, fences, tree branches, et cetera.)
At press deadline, there have been no major crashes or incidents reported in Northumberland so far. However, several initial reports point to challenging back/side roads still this morning and multiple collisions in recent days.
(Written by: Sarah Hyatt)
