Schools closed, events cancelled as freezing rain moves across the region

Freezing rain left roads slippery, closed schools Ice-covered roads made getting around treacherous Wednesday, prompting closures and cancellations across the region. Sean Irvine reports.

Schools were closed in London and surrounding areas on Wednesday after school buses were cancelled due to freezing rain across southwestern Ontario.

The Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board both announced that schools would be closed shortly after all buses were cancelled. Schools were also closed for the French Catholic School Board.

Western Univeristy cancelled all classes as of 12:30 p.m. Wednesday while Fanshawe College remained open with normal class schedules.

School buses were cancelled for:

A number of programs and events run by the City of London have also been affected, details are here.

A game between the London Nationals and St. Marys Lincolns has also been rescheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23.

The roads were so bad that even Canada Post suspended deliveries for part of the day.

The good news is that warmer temperatures meant the results of the ice storm weren't expected to be as severe as in similar recent events, according to Environment Canada.

Accumulations between five and 15 millimetres were expected, compared to 30 millimetres that fell in Ontario in 1998 and 2013.

The effects of the storm should be further improved on Thursday when temperatures climb above the freezing mark for much of the impacted area and will help melt some of the accumulated ice.

With files from The Canadian Press.