Weather & City of Barrie Clean up: 1)Winter arrived early – and forcefully – across Central Ontario. What’s next?; 2)City of Barrie provides reminders regarding winter maintenace

1)Winter arrived early – and forcefully – across Central Ontario. What’s next?

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Newsroom, December 21, 2025

After an unseasonably warm fall, winter has made its presence unmistakably clear across Barrie and much of Central Ontario.

And did so earlier than expected. Winter officially arrived at 10:03 a.m. Sunday.

Climatologist David Phillips says the region’s recent run of cold temperatures and frequent snowfall is the result of several competing climate forces coming together at once, including a strong early-season polar vortex, lake-effect snow, and broader climate trends.

“In Canada, we had the warmest fall on record, and in Ontario, the fourth-warmest on record,” Phillips said. “September and October were on fire – more than two degrees warmer than normal – and then all of a sudden November came, and things cooled right off.”

That abrupt shift caught many off guard. Phillips notes that while people often think of winter as December through February, November plays a critical role in setting the stage — and this year, it delivered.

Since late November, the region has seen almost uninterrupted snowfall. “In the last three weeks, we’ve had only snow – it snowed on every day,” Phillips said. “Out of 21 days, there were flakes falling on 20 of them.”

By mid-December, Barrie had already received roughly 100 centimetres of snow — about 45 per cent more than what’s typical for that point in the season. While not record-breaking, Phillips says the key difference has been the cold.

“The snow has lasted,” he explained. “We haven’t had melting temperatures or rain, so it’s just stayed there. Every time you look out the window, you see what’s accumulated over the last few weeks.”

Much of that snowfall has been driven by lake-effect systems, fuelled by unusually warm lake waters. “It was just like a hot tub out there,” Phillips said, referring to Georgian Bay and surrounding lakes. When cold air moves in under the right wind conditions, it can trigger intense – and highly localized – snowfalls.

Looking ahead, Phillips expects winter to remain unpredictable. While a brief warm-up with rain is possible around the holidays, he doesn’t foresee a snow-free Christmas. “All you really need is two centimetres of snow on the ground,” he said. “And we have far more than that.”

As for the rest of the season, confidence is lower than usual. La Niña, climate change, warm ocean temperatures and the ever-present polar vortex are all pulling in different directions.

“So who’s going to win?” Phillips asked. “That’s the problem.”

His best guess: the toughest stretch may already be behind us. “We’ve had a hard beginning,” he said, “but it should get less tough as we move on.”

That’s welcome news for winter-weary residents – though for skiers, snowmobilers and local recreation businesses, Phillips says the early snowfall has been nothing short of “fantastic.”

2)City of Barrie provides reminders regarding winter maintenace

Courtesy Barrie360.com

By Julius Hern, December 20, 2025

Barrie has had significant snowfall before the official start of winter, with multiple lake-effect snow events dumping upwards of 80 centimetres of snow since November 1.

As a result, the City of Barrie says its winter maintenance crews are working around the clock to maintain the safety and clearance of roads and sidewalks as quickly as possible.

“The volume and frequency of snowfall we’ve experienced this early in the season is unprecedented,” says City of Barrie Director of Operations Dave Friary. “Our crews have been working nonstop, often in back-to-back storms, to manage the accumulation. We want residents to know that every available resource is out on the road.”

With the unprecedented early-season conditions, the City of Barrie has issued some reminders regarding its operations procedures when it comes to winter maintenance.

PLOWING OF CITY ROADS

When at least five centimetres of snow has fallen, the City says that’s when it begins to service priority and secondary roads, which get cleaned up six to eight hours after the end of the snowfall.

Residential roads are plowed when snowfall reached at least eight centimetres, with the City’s goal to have them plowed 12 to 24 hours following the weather event.

SIDEWALK PLOWING

The City says sidewalk plowing is done on priority sidewalks when five centimetres of snow falls and on secondary sidewalks when there’s eight centimetres of snow.

PARKING RESTRICTIONS

On-street parking is not permitted on City streets from 12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. within the Downtown Business Improvement Area, from December 1 through March 31.

The City says those measures ensure that the streets can be completely cleared and are accessible to large emergency vehicles.

On-street parking is permitted on the following dates and times unless a “Winter Maintenance Event” is declared by 4 p.m. on the day prior:

12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. on December 25

12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. on December 26

12:01 a.m. to 7 a.m. on January 1

WASTE COLLECTION

The City recommends that residents shovel out a small area at the bottom of their driveway for your garbage cart, organics cart, and recycling bins.

It is not recommended that the bins are placed on top, behind, or within 0.6 metres of a snowbank. Instead, carts should be placed out of the path of snow removal equipment.

WINDROWS

Windrows—the pile of snow left at the end of a driveway after the road plow passes—are a common frustration, especially during heavy snowfall. Residents have voiced their frustration with the City, often asking why windrows can’t serviced. \

In response, the City says the scale and cost of creating a new program and providing this service in Barrie make it impractical. Early estimates put the cost of city-wide windrow clearing services at more than $12 million every year, plus $8.5 million in new equipment.

Physically, the service would require about 45 additional machines and more than 90 contracted personnel. Even then, the service would still leave some snow behind for the residents to clear themselves.

The City says the additional costs, plus the consideration of the area’s annual snowfall volume, means it will continue to focus its resources on servicing roads, sidewalks, and emergency routes.