Snow impact felt across Windsor, Ont. region

Scraping ice from the windshield seemed like a minor setback compared to what others had to endure during the region's first major snowstorm of the season.

“This morning we had about 50 no heat calls we have to get to today and through the weekend coming and with Christmas coming, it's going to be really crazy,” said Grant Higginbottom, owner of Syles Mechanical.

Sensing inclement weather was on the way, Brian Foster had a scheduled maintenance done.

“I'm glad they made it [because] I was worried that they wouldn't come because of the weather and it's going to get worse so we're getting it done and I get my piece of mind back,” he said.

Others however had to wait for that peace of mind.

“So glad we are leaving,” said Sheila Davis prior to boarding for a holiday vacation. “I'm hoping, praying because our plane still hasn't arrived here yet to take us so I'm hoping still we can get out.”

Mark Galvin, president of Windsor International Airport, said there is a mix of on-time flights along with delays and cancellations. He wants travelers to know staff is working hard to find solutions to any issues that arise.

“What I would suggest is anyone that is travelling is keep double checking and triple checking your travel plans. Check with your airline to make sure. If it's connecting not only check with your first flight but your second flight. It's a challenging day,” he said.

Elsewhere in Windsor-Essex, there was a power outage in Kingsville, schools were closed, the 24th edition of the Zakoor Cup was postponed, and the highly anticipated high school hockey game between St. Joe’s and Brennan was rescheduled for February.

“We had everything planned for this morning. Big pep rally. We had breakfast going on. All the boys were pumped for it. Got the playlist ready and everything like that. Now we can't play,” said Aiden Barnes of Brennan who was looking forward to playing in front of over 1,000 fans.

Snow combined with wind made salting city streets a challenge.

“It's a mess,” said Derek Jupp, who had to contend with wind blowing large amounts of snow into his windshield while driving. “It's a matter of the wind. It's really blowing.”

Phong Nguy, manager of maintenance meanwhile said some drivers had to be more aware because it was recycling day in parts of the city, and told CTV News Windsor, “A lot of the recycling bins have been blowing around so our drivers have to dodge those as well.”

Nguy reminds motorists to drive slowly and carefully because the salt on the road is not melting.

“The temperature is too cold for the salt to actually melt,” said Nguy. “It's not very active so we do throw it just for traction.

Gaining traction is the thought of having snow for Christmas -- Lily Kam was outside early Friday morning shoveling snow and feels the idea of having snow for Christmas is gaining traction.

“I like it. Now it's Christmas time. It’s good,” said Kam.