March roared in like a lion as Dufferin was hammered twice with two winter storm systems, one last Thursday and Friday and another affecting travellers on Monday.

The storm last week was preceded by numerous warnings from Environment Canada about the hazardous conditions that were expected, and in anticipation of the storm, both the Upper Grand District and the Dufferin- Peel Catholic school boards cancelled busses on Thursday, even though storm conditions didn't affect the area until mid-afternoon.

Conditions quickly changed, however, once the storm system moved in and accumulations of snow and ice affected the commute home. By 6 p.m. Thursday some area roads were closed and remained closed until Friday morning.

Overnight the snow changed to mixed precipitation including freezing rain and although the snowplows and sanders were on the road cleaning up, school busses were once again cancelled on Friday.

On Monday, another storm moved into the area and high winds, blowing snow and bands of snow squalls that caused white-out conditions one minute and clear conditions the next wreaked havoc for travellers. Local area students enjoyed another no-bus day.

"It was hard to tell what was going on," said Trevor Lewis, director of public works for Dufferin. "One area would be clear and another was blinding conditions."

By 10 a.m., two County snowplows were involved in separate and minor collisions and a decision was made to pull all the trucks off the road.

All Dufferin County roads were closed and the OPP advised against travel.

Dufferin OPP were kept busy responding to 10 separate vehicle accidents. Four involved personal injury but no fatalities occurred.

The emergency room at Headwaters Health Care Centre reported an increase in volume.

"There were no injuries that needed medical transports to other hospitals," said Kathryn Hunt, spokesperson for the hospital. "There were a lot of minor injuries that were treated in the emergency room."

Theresa Tram, spokesperson for Orangeville's new Best Western hotel said the hotel was at 86 per cent capacity when stranded travellers began checking in later in the day on Monday.

"There were a lot of commuters who made it this far and couldn't go any further," Ms. Tram said.

The Town of Shelburne cancelled a public meeting to discuss the revitalization project that was originally scheduled for Monday night at Grace Tipling Hall. It has since been rescheduled for Monday April 2.

Many other planned events were postponed or cancelled Monday night.

Dufferin County roads were reopened Tuesday morning around 7 a.m., but not soon enough for the school buses. Students on Tuesday had a fourth no-bus day in a row.

Bob Borden, chair of the Upper Grand board, said schools were closed on Tuesday because of the extreme cold alert with the wind chill being predicted in some areas at - 40 C.

"Our cutoff for cold temperatures in - 35 and we didn't feel it safe for students who have to walk to school or wait for buses to be exposed to the very cold temperature." Mr. Borden said.

Area schools have had a number of no-bus days and Mr. Borden said the last two months' cancelations of buses is unusual and staff is looking at the ramifications of lost time for students and staff.

"We are looking at the long-term, although I don't think there is a significant problem yet, teachers are concerned about the amount of time lost and staff is discussing the impact and what could happen if this trend continues." Mr. Borden said.

The temperature this week plummeted to around - 15º Celsius and with the wind chill it felt more like - 23º.

Normal seasonal temperatures for March is around 3º C and Spring arrives in less than two weeks with the clocks springing forward this weekend.

By Saturday it is forecasted the temperature will be a high of plus 5º C.

Students will begin next week enjoying more time off from school because it is the start of March Break.