About 35,000 without power as ice storm hits parts of Ontario

Tens of thousands of Ontarians are without power as an ice storm pummels parts of the province and threatens even more.

A map from Hydro One, the provincial utility, shows roughly 35,000 customers were in the dark because of outages concentrated in cottage country, from Tobermory and Parry Sound to Peterborough.

Environment Canada has issued freezing rain warnings for swaths of Ontario and Quebec that begin on the northwestern shore of Lake Huron.

Though parts of central and southern Ontario are already being hit, the storm is expected to expand on Sunday, moving towards Ottawa and Montreal.

In Orillia, the heart of Ontario’s cottage country, the national forecaster says ice could accumulate up to 25 millimetres.

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The city is among those hit by power outages, and it says the public library has been closed for the day because it’s without electricity.

Environment Canada says the freezing rain may cause slippery surfaces, broken tree branches and power outages.

Police have advised against unnecessary travel in the coming days.

Conditions in some areas are expected to improve Monday as the weather system moves out of the province.