From shorts to snow pants: Winter returns with a vengeance

Although it is late February, Tuesday felt like early April.

However, that all changed Wednesday as winter returned with a vengeance across Midwestern Ontario.

Snow squall warnings covered Huron, Perth, Grey, and Bruce Counties as a cold front turned babbling brooks into slippery sidewalks in a matter of hours.

An unsettling shift for some.

“Signs of climate change, for sure. The extreme shift that we’re seeing right now has me not looking forward to the years coming ahead, and what that’s going to look like,” said a motorist in Wingham Wednesday afternoon.

Winter returned with a vengeance, seen in Wingham on Feb. 28, 2024, with snow squall warnings issues across Midwestern Ontario. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

A section of Highway 6 near Owen Sound was closed due to a jackknifed tractor-trailer for much of the afternoon. The rapidly changing road conditions were likely a contributing factor.

“A sudden change for sure, even from this morning. The roads are getting slippery and everyone needs to just slow down, ‘cause it’s still winter in Ontario,” said another motorist travelling the roads of Midwestern Ontario.

As uncomfortable as the return to winter was, it may get worse as snow squalls are forecast to intensify Wednesday night.

That could lead to “blizzard-like conditions,” especially across Grey and Bruce Counties overnight.

But, the spring switch will be flipped come the weekend and into next week, with forecast temperatures reaching 18 degrees by Monday.

Winter returned with a vengeance, seen in Wingham on Feb. 28, 2024, with snow squall warnings issues across Midwestern Ontario. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)