Blizzard of 1977 - Southern Ontario

Southern Ontario

The parts of Ontario lying near the northern border of Lake Erie were also struck hard by the Blizzard of 1977. Due to the geographical proximity to western New York and sharing a location on the edge of the frozen and snow-covered Lake Erie, parts of southern Ontario experienced similar conditions. Reports seem to indicate the worst conditions were limited to closer to the lakeshore than in western New York. For example, compare reports in that conditions were much better 1 to 2 mi (1.6 to 3.2 km) inland and reports in from a military commander noting an airborne view made it clear the worst was right along the shore, with reports from western New York with snow near street-light level in well-inland Lancaster.

As in western New York, the storm struck suddenly during the day Friday, with zero visibility, and blowing and drifting snow making roads impassable, and stranding many vehicles. Looting of radios from abandoned cars, as well as looting of soda pop from a truck was reported. Friday night, 250 people were stranded in the International Nickel Company plant in Port Colborne. Although schools closed when informed of the impending storm, the rapid onset of the storm resulted in about 1,000 students being stranded overnight, January 28, in Port Colborne and Wainfleet schools (about 2,000 students were stranded in the Niagara region altogether). By Saturday, January 29, night at 6 p.m., 800 students were still trapped, with 600 of them in Wainfleet and Port Colborne. On Sunday, the remaining students were taken from the schools with the help of the militia; some students were housed in nearby houses. In some areas, buses had become stranded trying to take children home from school Friday, so bus drivers took the children to nearby houses.

Snowmobiles were widely used to deliver aid and provide transportation. Niagara Regional Police Service enlisted the help of 60 snowmobiles and 15 four-wheel drive vehicles for use for regular police calls, as well as to deliver food and medication. Snowmobiles were also used to transport doctors and nurses, and Ontario Hydro workers. In Fort Erie, snowmobiles were being dispatched from all six fire halls to provide aid. Citizens band (CB) radio operators were used by the Niagara Regional Police for communication. The radio station CHOW facilitated communication by allowing people to call in and air needs on the radio, a role confirmed via a plaque from the Port Colborne Chamber of Commerce and scrolls from the Welland Chamber of Commerce.

The Canadian Forces assisted in the situation under police direction. For example, the mayor of Port Colborne requested military assistance from the Emergency Measures Organization in St. Catharines that resulted in an Army Reserve Battalion being sent and militia assisting in searching for stranded motorists. In a deployment headquartered at the Regional Police Station in Niagara Falls and stationed at the Lake Street Armory in St. Catharines and the Niagara Falls Armory in Niagara Falls, 156 reserves militia and 9 regular force soldiers helped in disaster relief. Regional authorities requested military assistance on January 29, in the afternoon, and the first unit was called at 3:30 pm, with 130 employed in the operation by the next morning. Their initial priorities were to "preserve life, clear main arteries into the communities of Port Colborne and Fort Erie, and try to open No. 3 Highway between Port Colborne and Fort Erie". The military was also involved in the London, Ontario, area, with reserves plus a 900-man infantry battalion, but conditions there were not as serious, with four wheel-drive vehicles being generally sufficient for transportation.

Areas affected by the blizzard included St. Catharines, Welland, Port Colborne, Fort Erie and the Wainfleet area, while Toronto and Hamilton were not hit badly by the storm. The Port Colborne area was strongly affected, while Wainfleet was very hard hit, and in particular the Long Beach area and the Lowbanks area were very strongly affected by the storm. As earlier noted, the most extreme conditions were right along the lakeshore with much better conditions 1 to 2 mi (1.6 to 3.2 km) inland. In Wainfleet, one resident reported early in the storm the wind broke a window facing the lake and snow rapidly began drifting in the house, which caused significant damage. In the Lowbanks area, a resident reported the storm smashed in windows and collapsed doors; they had lost power and heat and were burning furniture in the fireplace to keep warm. Ontario Hydro noted some power outages lasted 72 hours; it took an average of 24 hours to get power restored for some larger customers.

The depth of drifts in the hardest hit areas was extreme. Snowmobilers reported passing over vehicles, as well as onto the roof of a house, without knowing it, and snowmobiling over the top of a school bus without being able to see its roof. In the Long Beach area of Wainfleet, snow reached the power lines, with people stepping over and rolling under them, and only the chimneys of houses were visible above the snow. Along the lakeshore in Wainfleet, the mayor reported drifts up to 45 ft (14 m), and in Lowbanks, a military officer reported drifts of 30 to 40 ft (9 to 12 m) with only the steeple of a church visible. One drift estimated at 40 ft (12 m) remained until June 1, while snow banks reportedly lasted until the first week of June in the Cedar Bay area.

Farmers in Wainfleet dumped milk since it could not be transported out, and they also had trouble getting feed to their animals. The snow was difficult to plow; one road, near the lakeshore, could not be opened with a big front-end loader or a large bulldozer; instead, a small bulldozer with a bucket took 2.5 days to clear about 300 yards (270 m) of road. One resident noted they were snowed in for 19 days before being plowed out on February 14. One effect of the prolonged confinement at home many people experienced in the fall of that year was a marked increase in births at local hospitals (almost 18% in Regional Niagara in Canada).