Winter mix delivers Ontario freezing rain, blowing Prairie snow and East Coast wallop

By Canadian Press on February 18, 2026.

Old Man Winter doled out a medley of punishment across Canada on Wednesday as freezing rain encased southern Ontario, cold and snow swept across the Prairies and heavy snow blanketed the East Coast.

In southwestern Ontario, strong winds and ice buildup from freezing rain raised the possibility of local power outages and downed trees. Hydro One, the provincial utility, said it was monitoring the storm and its crews were ready to respond.

About 2,500 customers were without power on Wednesday morning, the utility’s map suggested, though it was unclear how many outages were weather-related.

The wet weather arrived after a recent stretch of mild temperatures and melting snow, prompting some conservation authorities to warn of possible flooding.

School buses were cancelled across the Greater Toronto Area where the forecast called for a mix of freezing rain, ice pellets and snow that could make for a slippery commute. The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board closed its schools for the day.

Into Barrie and Ontario’s cottage country, Environment Canada said around 10 to 15 centimetres of snow was possible, mixing with ice pellets at times, with snowfall totals expected to drop off sharply to the east toward Kingston. Northern Ontario was not spared either, with Thunder Bay expected to see about 20 to 40 centimetres of snow, and possibly more in some areas.

Elsewhere in Canada, Environment Canada was tracking a cold, windy weather system from the Northwest Territories and through the Prairies.

Yellowknife woke up to dense fog and a cold warning with winds expected to make it feel like close to -50 C in the area. A similar warning was in place across northern Alberta.

Cold warnings dotted the country elsewhere too, including Nunavut and British Columbia’s north coast.

From central Saskatchewan to southern Manitoba, the forecast shifts to blowing snow. Roughly 25 to 35 cm of snow was expected in the hardest-hit areas, with gusting winds of 80 kilometres per hour.

Both the cold and the snow are expected to linger until early Thursday morning.

On the East Coast, Newfoundland’s Avalon Peninsula was hammered by snow. The St. John’s area had seen about 25 to 45 centimetres fall by Wednesday morning, with Environment Canada calling for another 20 to 40 centimetres until early Thursday.

Hundreds were without power because of severe weather, Newfoundland Power reported.