The public works building in Oswego, NY collapsed this morning under the weight of three feet of lake effect snow.

Wild lake effect

snow and bitter cold

It was a weekend of intense lake effect snow in isolated pockets around the Great Lakes. Hardest hit in Ontario was the area off Georgian Bay near Barrie and along the 400 series of highways north of Toronto. Zero visibility in heavy snow caused hundreds of cars to pile into each other closing the 400 for more than 12 hours. Several serious injuries were reported but no deaths. The same conditions forced the closure of Interstate 81 in New York from Watertown south to Syracuse after multiple accidents Sunday afternoon.

Over 3 feet of snow has fallen on Oswego County. The roof of the public works building in Oswego, NY collapsed this morning from the weight of the snow. No injuries were reported, but a state of emergency has been declared. At this hour I-81 is open, but heavy snow is falling from Watertown south for about 50 miles. Travel is not recommended. The squall will slowly drift north tonight and slowly diminish in strength.

Meanwhile low pressure will move into the Great Lakes form the US Midwest tomorrow. While it will warm things up in the temperature department from the bitter cold this weekend, it was minus 25C in Kemptville this morning, a general 5-10cm of snow can be expected in most areas including Kemptville, along with strong gusty southwest winds from 40-60km/h. Travel will be a little challenging at times on Tuesday.