Toronto residents dig out after 7 to 11 cm of snow blankets city
Toronto residents are digging out after a winter storm dumped about seven to 11 centimetres of snow on the city on Tuesday.
A system from the southern U.S. brought the first winter storm of the year to the region, which prompted Environment Canada to issue a winter weather travel advisory for Toronto and surrounding areas.
That advisory has now been lifted.
Daniel Liota, a meteorologist for Environment Canada based in Toronto, said Tuesday's storm was "the biggest snowfall at least for the Toronto area for 2021 thus far."
The system tracked northeast over the lower Great Lakes and weakened as it moved across Ontario. The snow was heaviest in the morning, with the bulk of it falling from roughly 10 a.m. to shortly after 12 noon. It had largely stopped by 8 p.m.
Liota said the town of Caledon, according to an unofficial estimate, received about 14 centimetres of snow on Tuesday.
In the wake of the winter storm, Liota said colder temperatures are on their way for Toronto.
According to the forecast on Tuesday night, the low was expected to be – 7 C. Wind chill values were expected to make it feel like – 11 overnight. There was also the possibility of about two centimetres of freezing drizzle.
Thursday, Friday to be coldest days this week
On Thursday and Friday, the forecast calls for a high of –7 C. The low is expected to be –15 C on Thursday night and –14 C on Friday, making them the coldest days this week. There is a 60 per cent chance of flurries on Thursday night.
"We are going to be trending colder, below seasonal, through the remainder of the work week," Liota told CBC Toronto.
The last snow storm to blanket Toronto happened just before Dec. 25, bringing a white Christmas to the city.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Halton public and Catholic school boards, as well as the Peel public and Dufferin-Peel Catholic boards, cancelled bus service for the small number of students attending in-person classes.
