Snow daze: Unpacking a wild and woolly week in London

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From a surge in snowblower sales to the city asking for help uncovering bagged leaves buried under snow, this week’s big lake-effect storms impacted London and the region in different ways.

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Here’s a roundup of what Environment Canada had to say about snow squalls that started Monday and returned a couple more times and how business owners and the city are dealing with it:

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HOW MUCH SNOW?

Snow squalls dumped various amounts of snow in different parts of London between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, Environment Canada said.

Numbers came from social media and volunteer observers, the agency said, and vary due to the nature of lake-effect snow.

London’s north and east end was hit with 40 to 60 centimetres of snow, while the west saw between 20 to 25 centimetres.

There’s “potential” of more snow squall bands coming from Lake Huron and striking London again, but “it won’t be a direct shot,” like this week, and some areas could get up to two centimetres of snow, Environment Canada says.

This weekend, there’s a chance of flurries around noon on Saturday, but temperatures are expected to rise above zero on Sunday and Monday.

NATURALLY, A RUN ON SHOVELS AND SNOWBLOWERS

No luck finding a new shovel or snowblower? Try again. Tuckey Home Hardware in Wortley Village said it ran out of shovels and experienced a “real surge” in sales this week, but it has restocked.

With “lots of demand” for snowblowers, owner Dave Tuckey said the store was caught off guard by big dumps of snow on Monday, Tuesday and at the end of week that caused schools to be closed two days in a row.

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“Years ago, you used to be able to predict what you’d sell, but with how winters are going now, it’s hard to guess or see what’s going to trend each winter. It’s a gamble,” he said.

WITH ALL THIS SNOW, IS BOLER MOUNTAIN OPEN?

Let it snow or make it snow? As long as temperatures remain below zero, Boler Mountain officials say skiers can look to hit the slopes late next week.

“We could hardly get any snow until last night, but we’ve had some cold temperatures, so we’re making some snow,” said Greg Strauss of the Boler Mountain management team. “The cold temperatures are more important to us.”

BAGGED LEAVES? WELL, IT’S STILL TECHNICALLY FALL

The city asked Friday for “urgent” help from Londoners to uncover the bagged leaves from snow for its third collection round. While 75 per cent of leaves have been collected, the city said, there’s more work to be done.

Pickup resumes Saturday in Zone E: Old South, White Oaks, and Pond Mills. The collection will move to Zone A and the city’s remaining four zones starting Dec. 10.

“We know that we are asking a lot of Londoners to help us with this extra activity, but we have no other way of picking up bagged leaves buried in snow,” said Jay Stanford, director of climate change and environment and waste management.

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“A variety of weather factors, from a warm and late fall to late fall snowstorms, have contributed to this challenge,” Stanford said.

Leaf collection is between one to three weeks behind schedule but is expected to wrap up on Dec. 21.

For residents who can drop off leaves at the Oxford EnviroDepot at 1460 Oxford St. W., it will open an extra day on Sunday, Dec. 8, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., in addition to the scheduled opening on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

All EnviroDepots are open on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

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