 On September 18 , the Canadian Hurricane Centre issued heavy rainfall and wind warnings for portions of southern Ontario . A gale warning was also issued for Lake Ontario , eastern Lake Erie , the Saint Lawrence River and Georgian Bay . A news report on September 14 warned conditions could be similar to the disaster caused by Hurricane Hazel 49 years prior , resulting in widespread media coverage on the hurricane . Researchers on a Convair 580 flight studied the structure of Isabel transitioning into an extratropical storm , after two similar studies for Hurricane Michael in 2000 and Tropical Storm Karen in 2001 . While flying in a thunderstorm , ice build forced the plane to descend . 
