Torontonians are digging out after after what might have been the snowiest Jan. 15 in the city’s history.
Toronto’s Pearson International Airport recorded 22 centimentres of snow, according to Monica Vaswani, warning preparedness meteorologist for Environment Canada. The last record set for Jan. 15 was in 1863, when 15.2 centimetres was recorded at what is now Pearson airport, she said.
“This was quite a significant event in terms of both how much snow we received and also how quickly that snow fell,” Vaswani said Thursday evening.
The observation still has to be checked for quality control before it becomes official, she noted.
According to unofficial measurements by volunteers, she said 53 centimetres fell in north Scarborough, 45 centimetres in Markham, 37.4 centimetres at Downsview, 23 centimetres fell in midtown Toronto and 21 centimetres fell downtown, she said.
The snowfall warning, which was initially coded yellow, was upgraded to orange on Thursday morning, but was lifted at about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The colour coding looks at impact of weather on a community, with each colour representing a different risk. Orange means there are extended impacts.
“Even though the snowfall warning has since ended, the impacts are still expected to be felt within the community. And what that means is it is not necessarily a green light to go ahead and resume normal activities. The roads are still likely going to take time to be cleared,” she said.
“There is likely ice beneath the snow because of the warm temperatures that we had last week. And additionally, you still want to make sure that you are heeding basically any upcoming alerts that we send out.”
Toronto activates major snow event response plan
Meanwhile, city officials now calling the blast of winter weather a major snowstorm.
The city is activating its new “major snow event response plan,” officials said in a news release.
“Snowfall that began last night is expected to continue over the weekend, with 30-43 centimetres of snow [between] today and tomorrow with additional snow forecasted over the weekend,” the city news release reads.
A number of crashes and reports of black ice forced the city to temporarily close the Don Valley Parkway earlier in the day, while most major school boards in the Greater Toronto Area also closed due to heavy snow.
And because Mother Nature must have a sense of humour — all this commuting chaos comes exactly 27 years after former mayor Mel Lastman famously called in Canada’s military to help dig the city out of a snowstorm.
Police reopened the Don Valley Parkway Thursday afternoon, after portions of the well-used highway were closed during the morning commute. The move was in part made to support snow-clearing efforts, according to police.
People across the GTA had to rethink their day due to school closures and travel challenges.
A total of 20 to 40 centimetres of snowfall was expected by the time Thursday’s storm is done, with warnings of reduced visibility due to heavy and blowing snow, said Environment Canada.
An orange snowfall warning was in place through the day for much of the Greater Toronto Area, including York, Durham and Peel regions. That warning was lifted Thursday afternoon.
According to Environment Canada, orange alerts are uncommon and signify severe weather that can cause “significant damage” and “disruption.”
Heading out into the elements
Commuter Jonathan Jackson was among those in Toronto braving the snowfall Thursday.
“I think I only went about two or three blocks, but it was awful,” he said. “I was walking in the streets by accident, thinking it was the sidewalk.”
Meanwhile, resident Darin Schmidt said “it’s about time” Toronto had some snow.
“As far as being in it, I got no problem,” Schmidt said. “I’m an outdoor weather guy anyways. I played in the snow as a kid all the time.”
Both Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow cancelled public events Thursday due to the inclement weather.
In a winter update, Chow said 1,300 city staff and contractors were working to clear snow, with another 100 to be deployed in priority areas.
She said that all city services are now centrally co-ordinated through its emergency operations centre, which she called an improvement from the city’s past management of winter storms.
“This co-ordination, this collaboration means that we’re getting the right information out quickly, clearing roads and sidewalks efficiently and keeping essential services running,” said Chow at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
Colleges, universities, schools close throughout GTA
Several school boards — including Toronto’s public and Catholic boards, as well as the Halton, York and Peel boards — made the call Thursday morning to either cancel school bus service or completely shut down for the day.
Meanwhile the Durham District School Board and the Durham Catholic District School Board decided to keep their doors open, but cancelled transportation services throughout the region.
Buses delayed, Finch LRT shut down due to snow
Line 6 shuttered service between Humber College to Finch West station as of as 7:46 a.m. Thursday due to weather conditions, according to TTC Service Alerts on social media. That closure has continued into the afternoon, with crews “actively working to restore service,” according to the transit organization’s website.
It was the second time service shut down along the Finch West LRT after an earlier closure from switch issues caused by the inclement weather, said TTC spokesperson Susan Nguyen.
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Sources: CBC News
