GTA digs out after winter storm shutters schools, causes transit delays
Storm marks largest snowfall at Pearson airport this season, officials say
The City of Toronto will be plowing roads throughout Thursday and into Friday after a winter storm blanketed the city with snow overnight, officials said.
All 1,400 pieces of the city's snow clearing equipment have been deployed, said Vincent Sferrazza, director of operations and maintenance for transportation services, during a news conference Thursday.
"We simply ask our residents to please be patient," he said. "This will be an ongoing exercise."
The city has issued close to 700 tickets to people who parked on snow routes, Sferrazza said.
Effective 10 p.m. Wednesday, the city declared a significant weather event and a "major snowstorm condition." While the declarations are in place, parking on roads designated as snow routes is banned to make way for winter maintenance equipment.
Vehicles parked on snow routes will be towed and owners could be fined up to $200, the city said in a news release Wednesday.
Toronto police responded to more than a hundred collisions and weather-related accidents since 6 p.m. Wednesday, police said in a post on X Thursday afternoon.
The following school boards in the Greater Toronto area closed their schools on Thursday:
- Toronto District School Board
- Toronto Catholic District School Board
- York Region District School Board
- York Catholic District School Board
- Durham District School Board
- Durham Catholic District School Board
- Halton District School Board
- Halton Catholic District School Board
- Peel District School Board
- Dufferin Peel Catholic District School Board.
Toronto Catholic District School Board posted online that in-person elementary parent-teacher interviews are cancelled Thursday, but will resume Friday as planned.
Also, the following college and university campuses are closed: Centennial College, Humber Polytechnic, George Brown College and University of Toronto Mississauga.
York University, Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Toronto St. George campuses remain open. Seneca Polytechnic remains open but in-person day classes are shifting online. The University of Toronto's Scarborough campus has cancelled all in-person and online classes until 1 p.m.
Canada Post is suspending delivery throughout Ontario on Thursday, it said in a news release.
"There will be no regular collection or delivery of mail," the release said.
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario is closed and will reopen Friday.
Toronto public libraries will open at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The city is collecting garbage Thursday, though there are some delays, a spokesperson said in an email.
In Mississauga, all community centres and cultural facilities will be closed until at least 4 p.m, the city said in a news release. Libraries will be closed until at least 5 p.m.
Mississauga City Hall will remain open, though public services including service counters will be closed. Outdoor rinks will be closed until it's safe to open, the city said.
Snowfall warning lifts in Toronto
Environment Canada said the storm, which hit parts of southern Ontario overnight, may have a "significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas." Snow was expected to taper off Thursday morning after the heaviest snow fell Wednesday night, it said.
The federal weather agency said the city would receive two to five centimetres of snow on Thursday morning. There is also a risk of freezing rain on Thursday near Lake Ontario, it said.
People are advised to take frequent breaks and avoid strain while clearing snow, Environment Canada said.
A snowfall warning was in effect Thursday morning for Toronto but it has since been lifted.
But the following areas are under a snow squall watch and blowing snow advisory: Uxbridge, Beaverton, northern Durham Region, Newmarket, Georgina, northern York Region, Barrie, Collingwood and Hillsdale.
Some GO Buses, trains cancelled Thursday
GO Transit is operating on a special schedule on Thursday, which means some GO Train trips have been cancelled or modified, Metrolinx said.
Most trains are operating on schedule with few additional modifications or delays, spokesperson Andrea Ernesaks said in an email.
GO Buses have been most impacted by the weather, particularly west routes operating in the Kitchener, Milton, Georgetown and Hamilton areas, she said.
Bus delays have mostly been around 15 minutes or less, but some trips have been cancelled due to municipal road conditions, she said.
The UP Express remains on its regular schedule, Ernesaks said.
Passengers can view modified travel schedules on the GO Transit website.
All TTC express buses are operating as local bus service, except for the 900 Airport Rocket and 927 Highway 27 Express.
22 cm of snow fell at Pearson airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport accumulated 22 centimetres of snow as of 6:30 a.m., the airport said in a social media post Thursday morning. Several flights have been cancelled, officials said.
"This is the heaviest snowfall of the season, taking the record from the 15 cm of snow we saw on Feb. 8," the post said.
Most of the snow in the GTA has already fallen, said Daniel Sheldon, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
Light snow is expected to continue for the next few hours and there could also be blowing snow as winds pick up, he said.
Conditions on the roads "are pretty treacherous," Sheldon said. Freezing rain in parts of the GTA could also cause slick conditions, he said.
The GTA largely escaped freezing rain, Sheldon said, though it did fall in parts of Burlington, Hamilton and Niagara.
Ontario Provincial Police posted a video on social media Thursday morning showing cars stuck in snowbanks on a stretch of Highway 401 at Islington. Plows are working to clear the roads, officials said.
"Please help the snow clearing operations by staying off the roads," the post said.
Dozens of vehicles were stuck or stranded in snowbanks overnight, said OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt.
Thursday morning traffic is slowing down snow-clearing efforts and more collisions are happening – though there have not been any serious injuries as a result collisions, he said.
"If you do need to be out on the roads, stay in control. No aggressive steering, no aggressive breaking. Give yourself space behind traffic in front of you," Schmidt said.
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With files from Clara Pasieka