Ice storm set to continue 'hour after hour' in Thunder Bay, northern Ontario

The ice storm pummelling Thunder Bay, Ont., and communities along the north shore of Lake Superior is expected to continue until Thursday afternoon, according to Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.

• Ice storm pounds parts of northwestern Ontario, Thunder Bay schools closed

Conditions are "ideal" for freezing rain, because there is a high pressure system pumping cold air down over Lake Superior, which is colliding with warm air being sucked up from the south.

It's not unusual to have a storm like this in the early spring, said Coulson, but this one is remarkable for its tenacity.

"We can get these multi-phase storms where there's some snow, ice pellets and freezing rain but I can't remember, for the last number of years, having a situation lock in like this one has and have this situation continue for hour after hour," he said.

"I mean we've had storms that have lasted for a day, once in awhile but not necessarily the extent that we're seeing with this particular storm."

The forecast calls for total ice accretions of more than 20 millimetres in the Thunder Bay area, which is enough to bring down power lines and trees, Coulson said.

"That was sufficient weight of ice to bend large transmission towers and do quite significant damage to the electrical infrastructure," said Coulson.

As of Wednesday afternoon, one Thunder Bay arborist said he hadn't received any reports of large limbs or trees coming down due to the ice, but added he's been busy with many smaller calls.

"I've seen several limbs on cars, but the limbs that are breaking aren't that big," Vince Rutter said.

"It's not like people are getting limbs in their living room or anything, if something lands on a roof, it's not doing much damage, if any at all."

Still, Rutter said he will be keeping an eye on the weather as more serious damage could occur if more ice accumulates and the winds start blowing harder.

"If the wind picks up ... then we're going to see conifers falling down all over the place, because they're already so heavy with ice load."

The "massive storm system" is affecting a large swath of northwestern Ontario, leading to snowfall and winter storm warnings north of the city as well.

The icy conditions caused the closure of Confederation College, Lakehead University and all schools in Thunder Bay and along the north shore of Lake Superior. As well, many programs, services and businesses in the city have also been closed or cancelled and numerous flights scheduled out of Thunder Bay's airport were grounded.

Public Safety Canada encourages everyone to make an emergency plan and to get an emergency kit with drinking water, food, medicine, a first aid kit and a flash light ready for unpredictable circumstances, said Coulson.