Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to more than 200 crashes on roads throughout the GTA in the past 24 hours, with icy conditions reported across the region.
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CP24 that about 220 crashes were reported on Sunday and through the overnight hours.
“Sometimes we hear about it and it turns out to be nothing, but we actually got some pretty significant snow accumulation and even though it ended toward the evening hours of last night, the temperature just dropped and whatever was on the ground, on the sidewalks, on the side streets, just turned into this crusty, hard snow, (and) ice,” he said.
Environment Canada said approximately 10 centimetres of snow fell at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Sunday and about 17 centimetres of accumulation was reported in Hamilton.
Schmidt said the snow and ice “caught drivers by surprise,” which contributed to the number of collisions on Sunday.
“That is certainly a lot more than what we would see on a typical Sunday, through to Monday morning, and that doesn’t include the morning rush hour,” he added.
A special weather statement previously issued for Toronto and several surrounding areas on Sunday has now ended but more snow is possible on Monday.
More flurries are expected on Monday, which will see a high of just 1 C, feeling closer to -12 with the wind chill this morning.
A high of 3 C is expected on Tuesday, along with a chance of flurries or showers. When factoring in the wind chill, the temperature on Tuesday morning is expected to feel like -8.
Rain and milder temperatures will return on Wednesday and Thursday, with daytime highs of 7 C and 6 C on each day respectively.
