Saultites keep digging as the snow keeps falling

Snowfall in Sault Ste. Marie seemed to be delayed this year, but the cruel joke by Mother Nature saw a single dump make up for weeks of fall-like weather.

City hall and many businesses were closed Friday, as residents struggled to dig out from nearly two feet of snow that came in a hurry and showed no signs of stopping.

A snow squall warning is in effect in Sault Ste. Marie. (File)

Saultites woke up to nearly 50 centimetres of snow Friday morning. Residents throughout the city worked to dig themselves out, with more still on the horizon.

"I started about, 7:30 a.m., I was out," said Normand Hamelin.

"I just finished the road. The plow came last night, but it didn't come back. So that's what happened ... If it started at 7:30, how long do you think it’ll take?

"Well, I'll finish in dark and it'll be dark when I'm done."

Safety was a priority for many, who made sure not to rush when dealing with this much snow.

"You gotta' pace yourself," said Nirvano Graffi.

"Most of the people die with a heart attack when you clean snow. That's not the case. You got to go slow. Stop. Go in for a glass of wine. Come out again. A little bit of the time."

While many woke up to a nightmare, others felt like it was Christmas morning.

In addition to the roughly 50 centimetres seen overnight Friday and the 30 centimetres forecasted to fall before the day ends, up to 50 centimetres more is expected Saturday. (Photos from video)

Ron Caruso was up at 5 a.m. to see a winter wonderland, an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

"Oh, it was great," Caruso said.

"I woke up this morning. We had about four feet of snow and my first impulse was to get on my snow machine and, like, back in the '70s, we used to run up and down the street. So, yeah, it was an impulse thing. And I went down the street and there was no snow. It was safe. Of course, I got all my insurance and licensing papers and everything. So yeah. No, it brought back a lot of teenage memories."

The significant weather event essentially shut down the Sault, with schools and both the college and university closed.

City shut down

The city called off garbage and recycling pickup, the hospital cancelled elective surgeries for the day and even the police station’s collision reporting centre was unavailable.

The snow also caused issues with the Sault’s PUC Services, with power outages throughout the day and night.

"We've had, I would say over a dozen in the past, almost 20 hours," said PUC spokesperson Jairus Patterson.

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"The majority of the causes for the outages here have all been because there's been trees or branches falling on the power lines or due to heavy snow, as well.”

Sault residents who feel like they didn’t get to do enough shoveling need not worry. In addition to the roughly 50 centimetres seen overnight Friday and the 30 centimetres forecasted to fall before the day ends, up to 50 centimetres more is expected Saturday.