Originally Posted By avromark <a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/wea_ont_buffalo_snow" target="_blank">http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cap ress/wea_ont_buffalo_snow</a> FORT ERIE, Ont. (CP) - A rare October snowstorm left a section of southwestern Ontario buried in snow Friday, but conditions were much worse across the Canada-U.S. border in the Buffalo, N.Y., region, which received as much as 60 centimetres of snow. ADVERTISEMENT About 30 centimetres fell in the Fort Erie, Ont. area, forcing the closure of the Peace Bridge crossing to the United States for a few hours early Friday. A section of a highway leading to the crossing and all schools in the Fort Erie area were also closed. In western New York, the snow downed scores of tree limbs and toppled power lines, leaving more than 220,000 customers without electricity. Buffalo had received 56.6 centimetres of snow Thursday and Friday for the "snowiest" October day in Buffalo in the 137-year history of the U.S. National Weather Service, said meteorologist Tom Niziol. "This is an extremely rare event for this early in the season," Niziol said. A 170-kilometre stretch of the New York State Thruway from Rochester to Dunkirk, southwest of Buffalo, was closed because of the snow. Several drivers were believed to be stranded in their vehicles. The storm caused numerous flight delays and cancellations at Buffalo's airport, which was shut down for almost two hours late Thursday. Environment Canada said the storm had brought "significant snowfalls of historic proportions" and was exected to drop as much as 15 more centimetres in Ontario through Friday. Snowsqualls also left parts of Ontario's Bruce Peninsula, Parry Sound and cottage country regions north of Toronto covered in lesser amounts of snow. Several areas of northern Ontario also received a dusting of snow, with an additional five centimetres expected Friday. Snow-covered and slushy roads were being blamed for a head-on crash on Thursday afternoon near London, Ont. which killed a 27-year-old woman. Ontario provincial police said Jaclyn Szalkai was driving near the north shore of Lake Erie when she lost control of her van, crossed the centre line and collided with a pick-up truck. Guess who gets to test out 4wd today.
