Roof collapses on the rise this winter due to excessive snow load

Roof collapses are plaguing southwestern Ontario due to heavy snow load, CTV London’s Scott Miller explains.

Lisa Vince could hardly believe her eyes when she came home to find the roof of her Wingham area horse barn sitting on the barn floor.

“My mom texted me and said the barn collapsed, and I was like, maybe it’s not that bad. And we pulled in and it was, she said.

“My husband and I, we both cried because we’ve lost everything.”

Vince isn’t alone. Barn roofs have been collapsing all over Midwestern Ontario this winter, due to the excessive snowfall. Reports suggest at least twenty barn rooves have come crashing down this winter, from Owen Sound to Exeter.

While most have ended in no injuries, a young farm worker was injured after the roof of a dairy barn near Listowel imploded on Feb. 25.

In another incident, one person died after the roof of a country market building came down on him near Barrie on Feb. 21.

It’s not just barn or shed roofs buckling under the weight of record setting snowfall. Part of the roof of McDonald’s Home Hardware in Brussels came crashing down on Feb. 23. Luckily, no one was injured.

“I honestly never expected this, ever. I mean, we cleaned it up a few times throughout the winter. It’s really a shock, for sure,” said owner, Michael McDonald, at the time of the collapse.

Mike Whitelock has spent much of 2025 cleaning snow and ice jams off apartments, homes, and shed roofs across the region. Excessive amounts of melting snow, leaking into the attic, can cause issues he said.

“The whole cause is just the roof vents not breathing. If your roof vents aren’t breathing, it fills up all the heat inside the roof and you get your ice,” he said.

“Easy enough, clean out your roof vents to save you a whole bunch of trouble.”

Before Christmas, the roof of Bayfield’s Albion Hotel collapsed due to snow, followed by rain.

Over the past three weeks, a beef barn near Mitchell collapsed, the roofs of at least three pig barns in Perth and Huron Counties collapsed, a parking garage level in Ottawa collapsed due to snow, a building in Elora buckled under the pressure of snow, a fish hatchery roof near Owen Sound and a pavilion in Walkerton came down due to the snow, and a Wingham area auto repair shop roof buckled under the weight of snow, as well.

Experts say that a cubic foot of heavy, wet snow can weigh as much as 30 pounds. It’s something Lisa Vince and her husband, unfortunately, learned the hard way.

“The horses and everything, all of our animals got out safe. We will lose the stables, the arena, but we will rebuild,” she vowed.

North Perth Fire Chief Janny Pape issued a statement to CTV News:

``The North Perth Fire Department reminds residents that excess snow and ice accumulation may result in structural failure, and even collapse. With the heavy snow loads this year, structures may be overloaded. In addition, mild temperatures and rain saturates snow, increasing its weight. Residents should be aware of unusual creaking and cracking sounds, severe roof leaks, sagging ceiling tiles, cracks in walls or brickwork, and other out of the ordinary signs that may be related to snow overload.

Removing snow from a roof can be dangerous and should be undertaken by qualified individuals who have insurance and safety protocols in place including the use of fall arrest equipment if on the roof, ensuring area below is clear of people, vehicles, and equipment including gas meters and hydro lines that could be damaged as the snow falls, and maintaining a safe distance."