The snowfall that blanketed the city Wednesday morning has finally stopped but more messy weather could be on the way in the coming days, according to Environment Canada Meteorologist Geoff Coulson.
The Toronto area received an estimated five to 10 centimetres of snow on Wednesday as a winter storm wreaked havoc on the morning commute.
Though the snowfall did taper off by early Wednesday afternoon allowing Environment Canada to end a special weather statement for the region, Coulson told CP24 that the reprieve will be brief.
“Certainly in the next week to 10 days it looks like Toronto is going to stay in a fairly active storm track,” he said. “I have got more snow in the forecast potentially late into Friday and into Saturday morning and another system following that one late Saturday into Sunday so certainly it looks like some active weather for the Toronto area over the course of the next little while.”
Collisions reported
Numerous collisions were reported in Toronto on Wednesday morning and drivers said navigating parts of the Bayview Extension, where multiple vehicles were seen slipping and sliding, was particularly difficult.
Ontario Provincial Police, meanwhile, said that they were alerted to more than 400 collisions on GTA roads amid the morning snowfall.
OPP also said that there was about 100 collisions on provincial roads that are in close proximity to the GTA.
“There were lots of very preventable collisions. I spoke to a few drivers involved in wrecks and even they admitted that they were just going too fast for the conditions,” OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CP24 on Wednesday evening. “You know we have four-wheel drive and all-wheel drive and snow tires and all these things that are there to keep us safer but the most important thing in a vehicle is the driver driving to the conditions.
Schmidt said that road conditions were particularly dangerous this morning due to the presence of “snow and slush” on most roadways.
The messy weather also impacted operations at Pearson International Airport, where about 15 per cent of all arriving and departing flights were cancelled.
“We recommend that passengers check their flight status at Torontopearson.com or with their airline prior to travelling to the airport.” Greater Toronto Airports Authority spokesperson Natalie Moncur told CP24 earlier on Wednesday. “Our deicing and snow removal crews are fully staffed and well equipped to handle the winter conditions.
Extreme cold headed our way
Snow may not in the forecast tomorrow but the city will see a big temperature drop tonight.
Toronto’s medical officer of health issued an extreme cold weather alert today in anticipation of bitterly cold temperatures tomorrow.
The city is expected to see a low of -13 C early Thursday morning but it will feel closer to -20 with the wind chill.
The cold weather alert triggers additional services for the city’s homeless population, including additional shelter beds.
During the frigid weather, Toronto Public Health reminds people to check on vulnerable neighbours, friends and family members.
People are also encouraged to dress in layers, stay dry, and reschedule outdoor activities.
“At this point in time it looks like we are going to stay below freezing for the next little while,” Coulson told CP24. “We are not really seeing the same wild swings in temperatures that we had back in January. It has been a little bit colder than normal for the last little while and we will see the temps slowly rising as we get into the weekend and into early next week.”
The City of Toronto’s winter operations division says that plowing began on local roads at around 1 p.m. and is expected to continue through the overnight period.
It is expected to take about 16 hours to fully clear all local roads of snow.
