Winter storms trigger stories of the past from Thorndale

Blizzard conditions in Thorndale on Dec. 29, 2025.

By Nancy Abra

When it comes to weather, Canadians love to reminisce of storms of the past and share stories.

The winter of 2024-25 was a mixed bag of heavy snowfalls, winds, thaws and frigid temperatures. This winter began in November with a few heavy snowfalls in this region, then it warmed up near Christmas followed by rain, freezing rain and ending 2025 with snow and blizzard-like conditions. It makes one wonder what the rest of our winter will be like.

With an obsession for our weather, winter storms usually trigger people to share stories and experiences of the past. The 1970s is in our history books for some of our worst winter storms on record.

The major storm of January 1971 basically shut down the region, with children stuck at school and closed roads. A Thorndale area woman said her children were stuck at Plover Mills Public School and she and her husband went to get them.

“The storm was so fierce we couldn’t see the road and ended up in the ditch. We were all safe, but our truck was buried for a week,” she said.

Another local resident recalled that if you didn’t have electricity, you went to a neighbour’s who had a wood stove.

“And we listened to Bill Brady on our transistor radio for weather updates and road closures.”

There were no cell phones or social media back then so “people relied on friends and neighbours, phoning to check on each other.”

The winters of 1977 and 1978 also made an impact for more memorable stories. The winter blizzard of January 1977 hit with heavy snowfalls and high winds that paralyzed this region. The following winter, in late January 1978, a storm hit which started with freezing rain, changing to heavy amounts of snow and high winds causing blizzard conditions – another blast of winter that shut down the area for a few days.

Personally, I recall my husband snowmobiling up the road to our neighbours who had a dairy farm to get some milk for our small children and our next-door neighbours. Then there was the winter storm known as “Snowmageddon” in December 2010 with record-setting lake-effect snow and blizzard conditions with roads and major highway closures in this region.

According to the local meteorological sources and the Farmer’s Almanac for this region’s winter, they are forecasting January temperatures to be near normal or slightly below normal and we should expect a return to more traditional winter patterns, including snow events and occasional thaws. As for February, the prediction is widespread snowstorms and deep freezes. Precipitation is forecast to be above normal, experiencing messy storms with the snowiest of them projected early in the month and a mix of ice and rain for the latter half of February.

So, hang on to your hats and have your shovel ready, as it could be another winter for the records.