Declaration of a Significant Weather Event

Minden, Ontario
March 10, 2026
2:00 PM
Release # 26-15

Subject: Declaration of a Significant Weather Event

In response to an expected major freezing rain event in the area, The Township of Minden Hills, in conjunction with neighbouring municipalities and the County of Haliburton has declared a Significant Weather Event at 2:00 p.m. local time. This weather event will likely impact travel and services throughout the County. This declaration is made pursuant to Ontario Regulation 239/02, Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways.

The declaration may change how or when the Municipality performs their maintenance operations and may increase the amount of time to bring the roads back to a state of repair. Municipal Staff are advising residents to avoid driving, and if you must travel, please use extreme caution as the Roads Department may not be able to meet their maintenance standards for roads due to ice accretion. 

Please see the Freezing Rain Warning from Environment Canada below.

9:53 AM EDT Tuesday 10 March 2026

Impact Level: High

Forecast Confidence: High

Significant freezing rain event expected Wednesday.

What: Prolonged period of freezing rain. Possibly up to 24 hours for some areas. Ice accretion or build up of 10 to 20 mm.

When: Beginning tonight or early Wednesday morning and lasting through Wednesday or Wednesday night.

Additional information: A series of low pressure systems will lead to significant freezing rain across parts of southern Ontario. Freezing rain may fall heavily at times. In this case, the precipitation may not freeze immediately, which may lead to localized flooding in low lying areas. Some areas across eastern Ontario closer to the St. Lawrence River may rise above the freezing mark Wednesday afternoon, which would lessen the amount of ice build up in these areas.

Roads and walkways will likely become icy and slippery. There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic.

Prolonged utility outages are likely. Significant damage to property, including some buildings and trees, is likely due to the weight of ice. Be very careful if walking or driving. Stay away from fallen power lines. Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada. To report severe weather, send an email to ONstorm@ec.gc.ca or post reports on X using #ONStorm.

In effect for:

• Haliburton - Minden - Southern Haliburton County

 Contact Information:

Public Works Administration Office
Township of Minden Hills
PO Box 359, 7 Milne Street
Minden, ON K0M 2K0
Email