Freezing rain warnings extended, hundreds without power as storm rolls through

An anticipated major winter storm has arrived in eastern Ontario, with power outages affecting hundreds of people in Kingston, Ont., and the surrounding area and police reporting dozens of collisions.

Environment Canada said Friday to prepare for widespread power outages and dangerous travel over the weekend because of freezing rain hitting communities ranging from Bancroft to Belleville to Brockville.

It’s since upgraded some regional warnings and extended them into Sunday.

As of Saturday morning, the agency had active freezing rain warnings in place along Lake Ontario for Kingston, Belleville and Quinte West, warning the public that these regions could get five up to 25 millimetres of ice accretion or more and widespread power outages are possible.

There is also a freezing rain warning along the border of western Quebec in places like Grenville and Deep River, noting that people there may see between five and 10 millimetres of ice accretion. 

Ottawa, Gatineau and communities to the south — including Perth and Smiths Falls — are now under a freezing rain warning, upgraded from a special weather statement around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

On Friday, that statement said these regions could get five to 10 millimetres of ice accretion.

The freezing rain may ease for a time on Saturday, according to Environment Canada. The agency provided an update late Saturday morning to note that freezing rain in some places would continue into Sunday afternoon.

Kingston has declared a significant weather event, putting in its snow plans for transit and overnight parking. Cornwall and Pembroke have followed suit.

For a benchmark, the infamous 1998 ice storm brought more than eight centimetres of ice to Ottawa over multiple days.

Power outages in Lake Ontario communities

Forecasters said Friday it would get slippery outside and tree branches could break as ice builds up, putting utilities such as electricity at risk where there are freezing rain warnings.

Around noon on Saturday, Hydro One’s outage map showed at least 1,800 customers were experiencing power outages around Kingston, Leeds and the Thousand Islands, and Lennox and Addington county.

At that time Hydro Ottawa’s outage map showed there were a handful of outages in Ottawa, affecting fewer than 20 customers. 

Outages are measured in customers, not people, with a large building sometimes considered a single customer.

Organizations such as Emergency Management Ontario have advice on how to prepare for and manage power outages. CBC Lite is a low-bandwidth version of this website that can help you stay informed.

Dozens of collisions

Environment Canada and the Ontario Provincial Police recommend postponing non-essential travel under the freezing rain warnings.

OPP reported on X that its officers had responded to about 94 collisions across eastern Ontario between midnight and noon on Saturday.

Most of the collisions Saturday morning resulted in “no injuries or minor injuries,” OPP wrote.

But they also said that one three-vehicle collision on Highway 138 north of Monkland Saturday morning was fatal,  while another three-vehicle collision on Highway 416 near Spencerville just before midnight Friday resulted in at least seven people sent to hospital with injuries.