After a “big shot of rain,” the GTA should brace for swiftly dropping temperatures and a day of blowing snow, warns Environment Canada meteorologist Mitch Meredith.
Already the agency says “dangerously low visibilities are sweeping” throughout southern Ontario, and provincial police are advising people to stay off the roads if possible.
The temperature has dropped throughout the morning, but not yet hit below zero. However, Meredith says he anticipates a temperature of –5C by noon. Wind chill could make it feel like 20 below by late afternoon.
“The conditions out there are going to change quite significantly,” he said. “I think the change to a hard freeze will take a couple more hours.”
The worst of the weather is expected to hit later today and last through to Saturday morning. “It could get very slippery,” Meredith said. He said high winds on Saturday could make it feel like it’s snowing even after the snow has tapered off into flurries.
The wintry mix will make travel difficult, Environment Canada has warned, and could throw a wrench into plans for the Christmas weekend.
Toronto’s forecast calls for:
- Five to 15 centimetres of snow by Saturday morning.
- Strong winds with gusts up to 90 km/h, developing this morning and continuing into tomorrow.
- Wind chill values in the minus 20s that will develop today and persist into the weekend.
The federal weather agency urges people to avoid “non-essential” travel during the storm.
Widespread power outages are possible.
Hydro One, Ontario’s largest electricity utility, has said teams are prepared to respond to any outages. Toronto Hydro has reminded customers to refresh their emergency kits and said additional crews are ready to support customers through the weekend.
City says it is prepared
The City of Toronto, meanwhile, says it is sending crews and equipment to high-priority areas so that they can respond when required.
Salting will begin as soon as the snow starts to stick to the ground. Plowing will begin when the snow reaches:
- Two centimetres on sidewalks and separated cycle tracks.
- 2.5 centimetres on expressways.
- Five centimetres on major roads, transit routes and streets with hills.
- Eight centimetres on residential streets.
The city also opened three warming centres on Thursday night for people experiencing homelessness:
- Scarborough Civic Centre, 150 Borough Dr., opened at 7 p.m.
- Metro Hall, 55 John St., opened at 7 p.m.
- Mitchell Field Community Centre, 89 Church Ave., opened at 8 p.m.
According to the city, forestry crews are preparing to respond if high winds snap branches or bring trees down. Hazards to public safety or property and roads that needs to be cleared will be the priority. Residents can report fallen branches and trees to 311.
Toronto Water crews are also on standby to repair watermain breaks and offer help if local areas flood.
The city advises residents to avoid travel until conditions improves. If travel is essential on Friday morning, expect low visibility and icy and slippery conditions. Motorists should slow down, follow at a safe distance, watch out for pedestrians and cyclists, and stay alert.
All residents are also urged to keep a safe distance from snow clearing equipment and crews to let them do their work.
WestJet cancels all flights out of Pearson on Friday
Meanwhile, WestJet has cancelled all flights arriving and departing from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport on Friday.
The cancellations begin at 9 a.m. ET until the end of the day and the airline says a “restart” depends on weather conditions by Saturday.
The service suspension will affect other Ontario and Quebec airports as well, including Ottawa International Airport, London International Airport, the Region of Waterloo International Airport and Montreal-Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport.
WestJet said the cancellations will affect 140 flights across the five airports. It added that the decision to cancel was made after it consulted airport authorities and NAV Canada. All travellers have been notified, it said.
“The prolonged and extreme weather events that continue to impact multiple regions across Canada are unlike anything we’ve experienced,” said Diederik Pen, WestJet’s chief operations officer, said in a statement.
Tori Gass, spokesperson for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, said that flights at Pearson were still running smoothly early Friday but warned that could change.
The expected high winds and blowing snow could significantly slow down operations. Gas said it is “definitely a possibility” that other airlines could begin mass cancelling flights if conditions deteriorate, and she urged all travellers to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
Several boards close schools
Several Greater Toronto Area school boards say schools are closed Friday due to the storm:
- Toronto District School Board.
- Toronto Catholic District School Board.
- Peel District School Board.
- York Region District School Board.
- York Catholic District School Board.
- Durham District School Board.
The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and Halton District School Board are also closed, but those closures were already on their calendars.
The TDSB said child care centres and before and after school programs located in its schools will also be closed and all permits will be cancelled for the day.
All in-person Continuing Education after school and evening courses are also cancelled on Friday. Those courses include International Languages Elementary and African Heritage, Learn4Life Community Programs and Adult ESL.
TTC implements severe weather plan
The TTC, for its part, says it is enacting its severe weather plan to ensure it can keep continue to deliver essential transit sevice.
The transit agency says it is doing the following:
- Extra staff and vehicles are available if need be.
- Line 3 Scarborough SRT will be in service Friday morning with parallel bus servicing running. If needed, the line will be closed and replaced with buses.
- 41 bus stops in areas difficult for buses to navigate in snow and ice will be taken out of service overnight. The full list can be found here.
- Anti-icing and snow clearing protocols will in place in all bus, streetcar and subway divisions.
- Subway trains will be stored in tunnels along main lines to avoid issues getting out of the yards.
- The streetcar overhead network and vehicles have been treated with an anti-icing application. Should any issues arise on 512 St Clair, replacement buses will run.
- Private contractor tow trucks are ready to help any trapped vehicles and the TTC’s fleet of snow-clearing equipment will be used if needed.
- The TTC will stay in regular communication with the city to ensure crews are aware of issues on transit routes.
GO Trains to operate on slightly reduced service
Metrolinx has implemented what it calls a “heavy snow plan,” according to spokesperson Matt Llewellyn, only the second time in five years that such a plan has been implemented.
That means GO trains will be running on a slightly reduced schedule during the morning and afternoon peak periods, with an extra 10 or 15 minutes possible between some trains. There will be no express trains on Friday.
Llewellyn said there will be no major cancellations of service. If road conditions deteriorate, there could be some delays and cancellations of GO bus service, however. He said if there is rail option, that might be a better bet for travellers, he added.
“We need to make sure that we can continue to operate that train service safely even during really bad storms like the one that we’re expected to see,” he said.
Riders should check the GO Transit website before heading out the door and give themselves extra time, he advises.
How should you prepare?
Residents are urged to make an emergency plan and prepare a kit with drinking water, food, medicine, first aid supplies and a flashlight, the federal weather agency says.
Environment Canada says residents should continue to check local forecasts.
