As spring slowly pushes winter aside, Mother Nature adds a few conditions we really need to be aware of. Warm days melt the snow, which always follows the path of least resistance. Colder nights causes the freshly melted snow to freeze into ice, which as we all know, causes it to expand. In the same way this thaw/freeze cycle creates potholes, when the water gets into cracks in the rocks, it can dislodge rocks of all sizes and send them tumbling onto the highway, usually at night, so pay extra close attention for rocks and debris, especially in the mountains, and along the highway in northwestern Ontario.
Just as the warming can cause rocks to crash onto the road, it can also make the snow pack very unstable. In the mountains, the highway department keeps a very close eye on avalanche conditions and will take preventative measures to prevent unexpected road closures, but the danger of avalanches in northwestern Ontario, while nowhere near as severe, is still there. Melting snow running down the rock face will also freeze overnight, and as the day warms up, it will eventually fall off and you may come around a corner and find a huge chuck of slowly melting ice on the road, so be aware of that as well.
Shaded areas of the highway could also be ice covered, as the sun doesn’t reach the shade, so be in the lookout for these areas, and slow down accordingly.
