Snow squalls spur school bus cancellations

Snow covers parked school buses in a lot in Barrie, Ont. (Rob Cooper/CTV News)

School buses have been cancelled across several parts of Simcoe County Thursday morning as heavy snow squalls continue to create whiteout conditions and dangerous travel throughout the region.

The Simcoe County Student Transportation Consortium said all buses and vans in the west, central and south weather zones have been cancelled for Thursday.

The consortium said the decision was made “due to current poor road and visibility conditions and the forecast for poor conditions to continue throughout the school day.”

Schools remain open for student learning.

The cancellations affect students in:

• West Zone: Collingwood, Stayner and Wasaga Beach
• Central Zone: Barrie, Innisfil and Angus
• South Zone: Alliston, Beeton, Bradford, Cookstown and Tottenham

The inclement weather also caused school bus cancellations in Meaford and Thornbury. The impacted schools include Beaver Valley and Georgian Bay.

All buses to Owen Sound are cancelled, including in-city pick-ups. The move impacts several schools, including Alexandra, East Ridge, Hillcrest, Keppel-Sarawak, Notre Dame, Owen Sound District, St. Basil’s, St. Mary’s.

Buses that typically head to Dundalk, Flesherton, Markdale and Maxwell are staying parked Thursday, impacting Beavercrest, Dundalk and Proton, Grey Highlands Secondary, Highpoint, Macphail Memorial, and Osprey Central.

The travel disruptions come as an orange snow squall warning remains in effect.

Environment Canada issued the alert at 3:43 a.m. Thursday, saying snow squalls are expected to persist through tonight with sudden drops to near-zero visibility and potentially hazardous road conditions.

• Hourly and 7-day forecast on our CTVNewsBarrie.ca weather hub

According to the warning, travel “will likely be extremely hazardous,” and road closures are possible as intense lake-effect bands continue to sweep across the region. Heavy bursts of snow can arrive with little warning, and the agency notes that visibility may be “suddenly reduced to near zero at times.”