UPDATE 8:15 P.M.: HWY. 11 BACK OPEN THROUGH MUSKOKA AS BLIZZARD BLANKETS DISTRICT CHRISTMAS EVE

RUNNING STORY … WATCH FOR STORM WATCH UPDATES HERE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

MUSKOKA — It’s white and it’s light.

That’s the most you can say about the worst storm of the year whipping across Muskoka yesterday, today, tomorrow and the day after.

It’s been a doozy with winds whipping up to 80 km/h and piling white stuff outside doorsteps.

And for those who wanted a “white Christmas” your wish has been granted with a blizzard that’s blanketing towns and villages and leaving many without power and in some cases broken water pipes.

It’s been like this for two days and there’s no end in sight in Muskoka, which is getting a brunt of the storm compared to points just south, including Washago where weather reporters were fine Saturday afternoon.

UPDATE 8:15 P.M.: Hwy. 11 back open both directions at 8:15 p.m. through Muskoka, after earlier Saturday night being closed about 6 p.m.

A few thousands of customers of Lakeland Power in Bracebridge are experiencing outages all over town with no estimated time of restoration according to their website Saturday afternoon.

Sections of road were closed due to drifting and accidents, causing hydro crews more pain in reaching customers.

In Gravenhurst, just after noon, Elexicon reported between 50 and 500 are affected in the northwest section of the town where the storm has particularly hit hard along waterfront shorelines.

UPDATE 7:30 p.m. Dec. 24: Hydro One reports that in Muskoka about 11,400 customers have so far been affected as of 7 p.m. among almost 42,000 customers they provide power to.

All mostly due to high winds and tree lines going down.

That includes 4,208 affect in their Bracebridge service area among its 19,899 customers in and around Bracebridge (Gravenhurst, Muskoka Lakes).

Power there is not expected to be restored until at least Sunday night at midnight at the latest — though some may have it back before then.

Workers there are dealing with 92 incidents.

In Huntsville, 7,198 homes or businesses are affected, among its 21,936 customers there.

They are dealing with 134 outage incidents.

The estimated restoration time there is also midnight Sunday night at the latest.

Hydro One says “all hands are on deck” working, including those called in from holidays and employees from other of its departments to help in any way possible.

Since the storm began yesterday Hydro One says in a release that 230,000 Hydro One customers have had power restored.

Provincewide they’re dealing with 1,305 outage incidents affecting 49,000 of its 1,424,154 customers.

 

2022 going out with a bang

2022 is going out with a wintry bang after a frightfully sick start 12 months ago.

And with RSVs, colds and flus laying people up in their homes already, Christmas Day is going to be quieter than last year.

Whipping snow has kept snowblowers, plows and people with shovels busy day and night – often out more than once a day to try and keep ahead.

Many are taking a pass on big gatherings against — without the insistence of government COVID recommendations.

You could say most will be Christmas socked in.

A man walking down the street this afternoon with a red shovel over his shoulder and dragging his son summed up the blast of weather when he was asked how he likes winter so far: “very crappy!”

It was same story on streets all over towns and villages in Muskoka as homeowners dug out, last-minute shoppers traipsed over snow banks with bags of groceries in tow, heads down, bundled up and bracing against gusts that have in the past 24 hours ranged up to 80 km/h.

While it was weather that could stop you — or your vehicle — in its tracks, others took a more practical route on roads by pulling a toboggan.

A lot of stores remained open with not many appearing to navigate main streets with purchases in hand.

This is one storm forecasters got right and it’s not over yet with Christmas Eve with more expected Christmas Day and Boxing Day at least.

So don’t put away that shovel or hope you’re getting one under the tree — if you can find them in stores. Supply shortages are everywhere in hardware departments.

Grocery stores, busy with food foragers, stayed open late keeping staff till the last minute.

But there were nary any last minute bargains to reward loyal customers who have weathered prices this year, which have piled up higher and faster than today’s snowdrifts.

Still with power on and off church services tried to trek on with some evening services still scheduled, including an annual 7 p.m. tradition at Trinity United Church in Gravenhurst and St. Paul’s Catholic Church, which was going ahead with its 9 p.m. “midnight Mass.”

St. James Anglican Church, across the road, is opting for an online service Christmas Day.

At least it will be good sledding for Santa and his reindeer tonight.

CHRISTMAS DAY FORECAST: Sleet with high of 7 and minus 14.

Power outages reported by Lakeland Power in Bracebridge were widespread throughout the day Saturday, leaving thousands powerless Christmas Eve. At mid-day undetermined restoration times for all areas were posted by the municipally-owned utility on their website.
People opened doors to find big white snowdrifts knocking at their doors.
It was definitely time to dig out the shovels – if you could find them beneath the build up of wintry white enveloping them.
Municipal workers were busy trying to keep ahead of falling snow all day on sidewalks and roads.
Last-minute shoppers gathering groceries to hunker down for the holidays navigated snowy streets all day, as trucks with snowblowers on back never stopped working.
“Very crappy,” is the way this dad described winter so far as he made his way down main street in Gravenhurst.
“On Dasher, on Dancer …,” it’s best way to ride for these comfy, cosy tots in tow on First Street.
A blustery day was weather that would stop you – or your vehicle – in its tracks, as minus temperatures made it only worse and posed black ice concerns.
Bay Street, in Gravenhurst, took the brunt of the storm with what appeared to be a broken pipe that had district workers toiling in the cold and wind.

O Canada! What a windy and cold way to end the year. We’re used to it — but this?

EMAIL: news@muskokatoday.com

28 years of ‘Local Online Journalism’

Twitter: @muskokatoday, Facebook: mclairmont1

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