Bad driving conditions, power outages expected as wind and blowing snow continue Sunday night

Wind and blowing snow are making for challenging conditions in southwestern Ontario Sunday. 

Hydro One is responding to a "significant" number of outages caused by high winds across southwestern Ontario, the company said in an online statement Sunday afternoon.

• See Hydro One's Storm Centre map
• See London Hydro's outage map

"The storm is expected to continue to affect south, central and eastern Ontario bringing freezing rain, rain, heavy snow along with 80-115kmh gusting winds through Sunday and Monday," the statement read.

Wild weather 

Sunday began with light drizzle and even thunderstorms in some areas, with strong winds beginning in the morning and ramping up into the evening hours, according to Environment Canada meteorologist Gerald Cheng.

Cheng advised people in the southwest to be aware of heavy winds and to take necessary precautions.

"In this day and age, we go out and look at our phones and are oblivious to our surroundings and we just want people to be aware of what's going on around them," said Cheng, adding that people should secure their belongings or bring them indoors.

Rain and snow pellets are expected to turn to flurries later Sunday with accumulations from two to four centimetres.

• The latest weather information from Environment Canada

A blowing snow advisory is also in place Sunday afternoon for London and the surrounding area. Cheng cautioned road conditions and visibility will likely be poor the rest of the day and into Monday morning.

The shoreline along Lake Erie is expected to see the strongest winds.

'No ice is safe ice': OPP

As extreme weather conditions continue to wallop the area, OPP are reminding people to stay off the ice.

A 70-year-old fisherman near St. Williams, southeast of London, had to be rescued Sunday morning after he walked to his ice fishing hut on Lake Erie and strong winds prevented him from walking back, according to OPP media relations officer Ed Sanchuk.

Sanchuk said he was "amazed" the man managed to avoid falling through the ice before emergency crews could get to him.

"He had totally open water probably 25 yards away from him," said Sanchuk.

Fortunately, the man was able to use his ice pick to hunker down and await help, Sanchuk said.

"We just want to put a reminder out there for people to use some common sense," said Sanchuk. 

"Not only did he put his life in danger, he put emergency services personnel in danger as well for going out to get him."

Meanwhile, in Port Stanley...

At the Village Square Coffee House in Port Stanley, Ont., where severe winds were blowing directly off Lake Erie, coffee-drinkers were unfazed by the conditions.

Bill Irvine said he didn't think the weather was "all that bad," although he did tie down his patio furniture — something, he says, not everyone has the presence of mind to do.

"They'll either lose it or it'll get run over by cars," said Irvine.

Meanwhile, Stephanie Lasilla, a visitor from Minnesota, said the winds felt like a "great spring breeze" compared to icy conditions back home.

"I think wind is a little easier to deal with because it can blow, but it won't take your whole fingers off," said Lasilla. 

"This is my tropical vacation right now!"

'Not out of the woods yet'

The winds are expected to decrease Monday, but Cheng said some lingering gusts will probably occur. The agency is forecasting gusts of 80 km/hr Monday morning, tapering off to around 50 km/hr by the end of the day.

"We're not quite out of the woods yet until really late day Monday," he added.

Monday is also expected to bring a temperature "free-fall" with wind chills making it feel as cold as -20 in some areas, Cheng said.

"We had a very mild weekend, but that's all come to an end."