The nasty weather had to happen some time.
But luckily, after a spring-like December, the wallop of winter weather that hit the Windsor area Monday evening isn’t supposed to last. Tuesday’s high should be around 8 C, with normal highs of around zero for the rest of the week.
Still, high winds whipping off Lake Erie on Monday caused some flooding in Leamington, especially on the south side of Cotterie Park Road which runs along the shore.
Leamington Mayor John Paterson said the waterlogged road was not fit to drive on.
“Our public works has been out there and they blocked the road off and are sitting out the rest of the storm to monitor it,” Paterson said Monday night. “The crews were salting when they saw the flooding and reported it.”
Flooding caused by high winds and waves from Lake Erie is seen on Lakeshore Drive near Fox Run Road in Leamington, Ont. Fierce, Lake Erie waves hammered the Leamington shore on Dec. 28, 2015.
With winds of 30-50 km/h, gusting up to 70 km/hr, the Essex Region Conservation Authority issued a flood warning — scheduled to last till 12 p.m. Tuesday — for Leamington, Wheatley and Point Pelee.
ERCA said there’s a possibility of flooding, shoreline erosion and damaging waves along the Lake Erie shoreline on the east side of Pelee Island.
Meanwhile, Environment Canada warned that freezing rain could make for messy conditions.
“It’s a pretty significant system,” Environment Canada meteorologist Mark Schuster said. “We haven’t been used to them lately. This is the biggest one so far this year.”
Raging waves crash on the shore near Lakeshore Drive near Fox Run Road in Leamington, Ont. on Dec. 28, 2015. The fierce, winter storm that has has caused death and destruction in the United States, has moved into Ontario.
City of Windsor road crews laid a brine solution on major routes Monday to keep wet conditions from becoming icy. Salt trucks then spent the day treating roads further, while Monday evening plows began moving built-up slush to the curb.
A warm front associated with a Texas low produced the band of freezing rain across southern Ontario and Quebec.
Ice accumulation ranged from five to 10 mm, making roads slick.
A large section of west Windsor lost power Monday night.
Enwin Utilities reported that a section bordered by the Detroit River to the north, Tecumseh Road to the south, South Street to the west and Crawford Avenue to the east went without electricity.
Windsor police reported several road accidents but no major ones. A riverboat temporarily broke loose of its moorings at the city-owned Lakeview Park Marina and turned sideways in the canal there before being brought under control again.
The OPP were kept hopping with accidents, many on Highway 401, though only three were reported in Essex County.
Raging waves crash on the shore near Lakeshore Drive near Fox Run Road in Leamington, Ontario on Dec. 28, 2015.
Raging waves crash on the shore near Lakeshore Drive near Fox Run Road in Leamington, Ontario on Dec. 28, 2015.
Raging waves crash on the shore near Lakeshore Drive near Fox Run Road in Leamington, Ontario on Dec. 28, 2015.
Flooding cause by high winds and waves from Lake Erie is seen on Lakeshore Drive near Fox Run Road in Leamington, Ont.
Raging waves crash on the shore near Lakeshore Drive near Fox Run Road in Leamington, Ontario on Dec. 28, 2015.
A cyclist maneuvers carefully on a slippery Gilles Boulevard in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, Dec. 28, 2015.
A man clears ice off his car on Gilles Boulevard in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, Dec. 28, 2015.
Wayne Zojac didn’t waste any time with his shovel, removing snow and ice from the Sandwich Street sidewalk near Prince Road Dec. 28, 2015.
Hekmate Yako clears ice off his van on Lillian Avenue in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, Dec. 28, 2015.
LaSalle police assist as County Towing operators help a motorist from the south ditch of Front Road Dec. 28, 2015.
Windsor and Essex County emergency services were kept busy responding to several crashes. In this photo, a Pontiac G6 in the median of west bound E C Row at Howard Avenue during the area’s first taste of winter Dec. 28, 2015.
