
Extreme cold warning continues in London region
Extreme cold temperatures continue to bear down on the London region, forcing local health units to issue cold weather alerts and the city to open an emergency overnight shelters for Londoners without a warm place to sleep.
The weather has also forced the closure of McGillivray Central Public School in Ailsa Craig and cancelled school buses for Middlesex and Oxford counties.
"This wave of cold weather is expected to remain in our region until Thursday," the Middlesex London Health Unit wrote in a statement this weekend. "While temperatures are anticipated to warm up slightly Wednesday, cold weather is still forecasted throughout the week and conditions may still meet the cold weather alert threshold."
School buses for Banting, Beal, Catholic Central, Dorchester, Laurier, Medway, John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Montcalm, Saunders, Westminster and St. Andre Bessette high schools are also cancelled. For a full list of cancellations, people can check mybigyellowbus.ca.
Boyle Memorial Community Centre was transformed Sunday night into a warming centre for people who have nowhere warm to sleep and the city's homeless shelters are full.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CTV News
a day ago
- CTV News
‘It's smoky out': Londoners cope with poor air quality
A haze is present in the air across much of southwestern Ontario as forest fire smoke from the west continues to affect air quality. 'It's been poor for the past few days, particularly earlier this morning,' said David Pavletic, Manager of Health Hazards at the Middlesex-London Health Unit. At 7 a.m. Friday, Environment Canada reported the air quality index had almost reached 10, the maximum score. That's when Pavletic states things get serious. 060625 - smoky air David Pavletic, Manager of Health Hazards, Middlesex-London Health Unit. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) 'The recommendation at that point would be to the general population to reduce activities outdoors and strenuous activities, for sure.' But air quality fluctuates with wind patterns. The unpredictability led some Londoners to be proactive, including senior Pauline Salisbury, who opted to wear a mask on a visit to Cherryhill Village Mall. 'I have a cough, and it's smoky out,' she explained. Another not taking many chances was parent Kiki Charles. She took her son, Elijah, to a city playground while the index was low. 'I wanted to kind of beat the bad weather.' As the pair had fun, she was mindful of advisories warning that children, seniors and those with compromised health face the greatest risk from the smoky air. 'I pay attention to whether or not he's exhausted or dehydrated,' Charles said. Even while indoors, there are safety precautions health officials recommend. They include closing all windows and doors and considering the purchase of a good quality air filter for heating and cooling systems. Not everyone heeds the advice, including Sandy Kirby. 'I read it. I'm careful, but I don't get all frantic about it.' Still, health officials advise that the poor air is expected to linger through the weekend. 060625 - smoky air Pauline Salisbury, opted to wear a mask on Friday. (Sean Irvine/CTV News London) That's why Pauline plans to keep her mask on. 'Well, like, I know some friends of mine who have a chronic cough. So, if they see me wearing a mask, then hopefully they will too, and protect themselves.'


CBC
30-04-2025
- CBC
Power outages close a number of London schools day after intense storm
The city is still working to recover this morning from a brief but destructive thunderstorm that tore through Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon's severe thunderstorm brought winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour, along with torrential rainfall and lightning. Power has mostly been restored to thousands of Londoners, however there are a number of small outages throughout the city, according to London Hydro's outage map. Westmount and Trafalgar public schools are closed Wednesday because of the outage, as are St. George and St. Rose of Lima Catholic elementary schools. Tuesday's thunderstorm formed on top of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay then moved south. When it reached London, the powerful winds caused tree damage in parts of the city.


CBC
09-04-2025
- CBC
How well did London clear snow this winter? 2 councillors want a review
Icy sidewalks, unplowed roads and difficulty getting to school are just some of the complaints piling up from London residents who faced challenges getting around in the ice and snow this past winter. Now, two councillors are calling for a review of the city's snow and ice removal — and what needs to improve. London's Ward 7 councillor Corrine Rahman and Ward 11 councillor Skylar Franke are putting forward a motion to the infrastructure and corporate services committee with a vote at Wednesday's meeting. "I think our staff do a great job. I think that the contractors that help us out do a great job, but there's always room for improvement," Rahman said. The review would look at how the city used contracted services during the 2024-2025 winter season, alternative options for snow and ice removal on roads and sidewalks, clearance around schools, and suggestions for new machinery to help with windrows, which form when snow is left at the end of a driveway after a plow has cleared the road. "In Old South and Wortley Village where there's a lot of people who walk around to get to work, to the bus and to school, I was hearing a lot of complaints about icy sidewalks," said Franke, adding that while most complaints were from pedestrians, she also heard from drivers about a need for faster snow clearance on the road. She also heard from families near Woodland Heights Public School on Springbank Drive who had challenges walking, she said. "The main entrance is off Springbank, but most people come from the neighbourhood behind the school and those pathways are not maintained in the winter." Meanwhile, Rahman said windrows are a key issue among many residents in her ward. "A lot of people sent me a video that was being shared on social media about how to get the snow not to build up at the end of your driveways when the plows go by," she said, adding that a review could highlight suggestions that other communities have already adopted to fix maintenance issues. The review is also a way for residents to learn how much money is needed for potential changes, Rahman said. "It's always good to know the cost of those kinds of services so people can really think about it from the perspective of council and what kinds of considerations we have to make for service improvements," she said. City teams clear close to 4,000 kms of roadway and more than 1,700 kms of sidewalk in the winter, said Joel Gillard, the city's division manager of road operations, in an email. He said they prioritize high traffic routes before clearing local streets and cul de sacs. "This winter has been very busy for our crews responding to all of the snow, and we recognize the winter weather has continued later in the season than what Londoners have previously experienced the past few years," Gillard said. Franke said the goal is to get committee approval Wednesday so the conversation can go to council sometime this spring. "We're hoping to get this done so that next winter, we can really address people's concerns and try to make the city easier to walk around in the winter," she said.