It has been a severe winter, and another cold snap arrived in southern Ontario just in time to usher in the month of March. On Saturday morning, February 28th, the early morning temperature sat at a bone-chilling minus 20 in communities including Collingwood throughout the southern Georgian Bay region. In Toronto, the city issued an extreme cold weather alert, meaning a set of extra services were made available to help protect homeless people from the bitter cold.

The extreme cold arrived suddently. Friday morning (February 27th) temperatures were plus 9 in Collingwood, plunging quickly to minus 10 by the afternoon. The sudden change in temperatures accompanied by high winds and blowing snow are believed to have contributed to a series of traffic accidents east of Collingwood on Highway 26 that resulted in the highway being closed for hours on Friday afternoon. One person was airlifted to Toronto as a result of a serious accident on highway 26 near Wasaga Beach. Highway conditions south of Collingwood near Duntroon were also hazardous as drivers were met with blowing snow and icy road conditions.

The forecast for the morning of first day of March called for bright sunshine, with temperatures close to -20. Windchill made the temperature feel like -26.