Heather Wright/The Independent

The OPP says over 500 vehicles have been stranded in blizzard conditions in Lambton County.

Environment Canada issued an Orange Blizzard warning Friday.

By 9:47 pm, forecasters said the wind gusts were hitting 68 km/h. Strong northwesterly winds will continue tonight which will lead to widespread blowing snow and significantly reduced visibility. Environment Canada says visibility may be near zero for wind-prone and exposed areas, particularly near the Lake Huron shore.

And that is reeking havoc with driving conditions.

Highway 402 between Strathroy and Mandaumin Road in Lambton is closed. Highway 21 from London Line all the way up the lakeshore is also closed according to WWW.511on.ca, due to accidents and reduced visibility in the falling and blowing snow.

At 3 am, according to www.511on.ca, there were only a handful of snowplows out on the roads, mainly in the Sarnia and St. Clair Township area where the weather is not severe.

Warming stations for stranded travellers have opened in the fire halls in the Village of Warwick and in Watford. Social media photos show there are some people already at the Warwick site.

OPP officers could still be found on the roads, looking for people in vehicles. But police say high winds mixed with snow are causing whiteouts, snow drifts and terrible driving conditions.

The OPP urged people to “stay off the roads, unless absolutely necessary. “

The OPP remind motorists to

Keep a safe distance behind snowplows.

Never pass a working snowplow.

Avoid travel unless absolutely necessary

Monitor www.511on.ca and www.municipal511.ca for real-time updates

Check www.weather.gc.ca for weather and road conditions

Environment Canada says the snow should persist into Saturday morning.