Ice Storm Damage

The ice storm that swept into southern Ontario before Christmas affected a large area from London to the eastern stretches of the province before moving on. This was the case in Guelph, the largest city in Wellington County, where I spent the holidays.

The Speed River flows through the city, open in portions along the way such as along this stretch, offering a place for ducks and geese to spend the winter. The coating of ice from the storm is visible on branches and long grasses along the riverbed.

The evergreen trees, though burdened down by ice at this point, have flexible branches that stand up to ice storms better than other trees.

Fallen branches were typical along this part of the river.

There'll be some branches to remove as the spring comes, some trees with broken branches that need to be pruned. Other parts of the province got hit harder.

Still, not far away, you can see more serious effects of the storm. This pathway has more fallen branches, and branches heavy with the weight of ice alongside it.

Riverside Park is close by, and in this first shot, the weight of ice is heavy on the trees, as beautiful as it can be.

And in this last shot, we see the shattering effects of an ice storm on trees. This particular one in Riverside Park has been destroyed.