Renfrew County has declared a Significant Weather event in light Environment Canada’s freezing rain warning. They add that the event will not be nearly as significant as the ice storm from this past weekend.
The rain is expected tonight into early Thursday morning, with ice accretion of 2 to 5 mm on some surfaces.
Freezing rain will impact travel and services throughout the municipality says the county.
A Significant Weather Event is defined as an approaching or occurring weather hazard with the potential to pose a significant danger to users of the highways within a municipality. Weather hazards are determined by Environment Canada as meeting the criteria for the issuance of an alert under its Public Weather Alerting Program.
“Snow and ice pellets will advance northeastward this afternoon before transitioning to freezing rain tonight. Prior to the transition to freezing rain, snowfall amounts up to 5 cm may occur over some locations. Easterly winds gusting to near 50 km/h may exacerbate any tree damage.
As temperatures rise above the freezing mark, freezing rain will transition to rain overnight into early Thursday morning.”
Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery. Ice build-up may cause tree branches to break.
Take extra care when walking or driving in affected areas.
The declaration of a significant weather event suspends the standard timelines required for municipalities to meet their winter maintenance objectives, until the municipality declares the event has ended.
