The first major winter storm of 2026 is here, and parts of the Greater Toronto Area could see as much as 40 centimetres of snowfall by day’s end.
Residents across the GTA woke up to large accumulations of the white stuff Thursday morning and most schools were closed as a result.
An orange-level snowfall warning issued by Environment Canada has since ended.
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CP24 Meteorologist Bill Coulter explained that the cold will add to the density of the snow on the ground, as today’s high will only reach -9 C and feel like a bitterly cold -22 with the wind chill.
“Because it is this cold it is less dense so you get double the snow that you would with the same moisture content,” he said.
Environment Canada says the snow will have a “significant impact” on rush hour traffic.
Here’s which areas snow plows across the GTA have covered:
Toronto
9:30 p.m.
It appears that most roads downtown and in the west end were plowed four to eight hours ago, while those in East York were serviced most recently.
Many residential roads in North York haven’t been plowed since eight to 12 hours ago.
2 p.m.
Toronto’s PlowTO Map shows that while some of the busiest streets in the city were plowed in the last four hours, some auxiliary routes haven’t been serviced since earlier this morning.
Many of the city’s sidewalks in the downtown core were cleared four hours ago, but some others in the east and west end are now covered in snow since they were last plowed.
8 a.m.
According to Toronto’s PlowTO Map, most of Toronto’s roads were serviced less than four hours ago, with some areas plowed between four and eight hours ago.
Sidewalks are a different story, with about half of the city’s walkways plowed less than four hours ago, and the other half more than four hours ago.
Click here to see when a crew has serviced your area.
Mississauga
9:30 p.m.
Most of the roads in Mississauga were cleared in the last six hours, but there are pockets, especially in the east, that haven’t been serviced since yesterday.
Sidewalks north of Highway 403 have not been cleared in the last six to 24 hours. Some sidewalks south of the highway were plowed within the last two hours, but the rest were still snow-covered.
2 p.m.
Most of the streets in Mississauga were cleared in the last six hours, but there are some areas in the east and north-end that haven’t seen a plow since yesterday.
Sidewalks are more of a mixed-bag, with some areas being serviced within the last two hours, while others were serviced more than 12 hours ago.
8 a.m.
Mississauga’s Snow Plow Tracker shows that most of the city’s roads were serviced within the last six hours.
According to the map, the lion’s share of the city’s sidewalks remain unplowed and were serviced more than 12 hours ago.
Click here to get a status update on snow-clearing operations in Mississauga.
Brampton
9:30 p.m.
Most Brampton streets were plowed within the last four hours, but some, especially in the northeast, have not been serviced in the last eight to 12 hours.
2 p.m.
Brampton’s plows have covered most of the city’s streets in the last four hours, according to their tracker, but there are a few spots that haven’t been serviced since early Thursday morning.
It’s unclear how many of the city’s sidewalks have been cleared and which are still covered in snow.
8 a.m.
Brampton’s fleet of snow plows serviced most of the city’s streets within the last four hours, according to the city’s plow tracker. Some areas outside of the city’s major hubs were plowed with the last four to eight hours.
Most of the city’s sidewalks have not been cleared, according to the tracker.
Brampton’s snow tracker can be viewed here.
Markham
2 p.m.
Some of Markham’s major roadways were serviced as recently as one hour ago, the town’s snow plow tracker shows.
Areas cleared less recently saw a snowplow within one and four hours, and only a few spots have had to wait longer than that.
8 a.m.
Most of Markham’s major roadways were serviced within the last hour, according to the town’s snow-clearing dashboard. Auxiliary routes appear to have been plowed between one and four hours ago.
Plows are on the sidewalks, but at time of writing it appears most have not been cleared.
Click here for a status update.
Richmond Hill
2 p.m.
While some areas of Richmond Hill were plowed within the last two hours, other streets are likely covered in snow since they were last serviced between two and six hours ago.
Service is pending in some spots, the city’s snow plow tracker shows, but most streets have been cleared since the snow started falling earlier this morning.
8 a.m.
Most of the major routes in Richmond Hill were cleared within the last two hours, but many others are still covered in snow after they were plowed more than six hours ago.
Click here for an update.
Vaughan
6 p.m.
The City of Vaughan says road plowing is complete on main roads and crews are now doing residential roads.
Sidewalk plowing and salting operations are also underway with a focus on those located on major roads, the city says.
It adds that windrow clearing is slower than usual due to snow volumes.
2 p.m.
Vaughan’s snowplow tracker shows that many of the city’s roads haven’t been cleared in more than 12 hours.
The situation appears to be particularly bad in the area of Highway 400 and Highway 407, where large portions of the city haven’t been cleared since early this morning.
8 a.m.
A number of roads in Vaughan are still waiting to be cleared, according to the city’s snow plow tracker. Some roadways on either side of Highway 400 have not been serviced in more than 12 hours.
Plows are on the sidewalks, but at time of writing, no information is available as to when they were last serviced.
In a statement to CTV News Toronto, a spokesperson for the city said it initiated salting operations at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a second round of salting at 10:30p.m.
“Upon completion of salting, full-scale plowing operations began at 3:30 a.m. Primary routes were completed by 9:00 a.m., with windrow clearing fully completed by 11:15 a.m. this morning. Plowing of residential roads is currently underway,” Justin Gaul said in an email.
Click here to access the city’s plow tracker.
Pickering
2 p.m.
After a strong start to salt or plow almost all of its roads Thursday morning, Pickering’s snow-clearing map shows that nearly half its streets haven’t been touched in eight hours.
Efforts to clear sidewalks are ongoing and at time of writing most major walkways have been plowed.
8 a.m.
Almost all of the streets in Pickering were either plowed or salted within the last eight hours, according to the city’s snow plow tracker.
Plows are currently clearing sidewalks, but most are still waiting to be serviced.
Pickering’s plow tracker can be found here.
Ajax
2 p.m.
Ajax is making progress to clear the snow that’s fallen since this morning.
The town’s snow plow tracker shows that about half of the area has been serviced in the last 12 hours, while many other areas are still waiting to be cleared.
8 a.m.
Ajax’s snow plows are playing catchup Thursday morning, as their website shows most of the town’s street have not been cleared for more than 24 hours.
Check their snow plow tracker here.
Whitby
8 a.m.
The town of Whitby splits its road-clearing operations into categories, starting with primary, secondary, and tertiary routes.
It’s unclear how much of the town has been cleared at time of writing. Residents can click here to see which type of street they live on.
Oshawa
8 a.m.
Oshawa also splits its roadways into priority 1 and priority 2 service levels. Priority 1 routes include the city’s major routes, while priority 2 includes more residential areas.
Priority 1 roads are cleared by the city within 12 hours after snow accumulation has ended. Priority 2 roads are cleared within 16 hours.
It’s unclear which roads or sidewalks have been plowed at this time.
Click here for more information.
Oakville
2 p.m.
Oakville’s snow-clearing efforts continue, and most of the city appears to have been plowed in the last four hours, the city’s website shows.
Some residential areas haven’t been serviced in more than 24 hours, though the scope of those waiting for a plow has significantly reduced since this morning.
8 a.m.
Oakville’s snow plows have cleared most of the town’s streets. However, some residential streets are likely still covered in snow, according to the Oakville snow plow tracking website.
Click here for the latest update.
Burlington
2 p.m.
Almost all of the city’s major roadways were cleared in the last 24 hours, though many residential areas are listed as having “no recent service.
8 a.m.
Burlington’s snow plow tracker shows that most, if not all, of its streets were plowed in the last 48 hours. It’s unclear how much snow remains on the ground after the roads were first serviced.
Click here for live updates.
This is a developing news story. More details to come.
