ABOVE: Residents of southern Ontario are dealing with multiple winter weather warnings on the first day back to school for many. Global’s Jennifer Palisoc reports.
TORONTO – Residents of southern Ontario are dealing with multiple winter weather warnings on what is the first day back to school for many.
Environment Canada ended a flash freeze warning for the city of Toronto at 11 a.m. Monday. The weather office previously warned of treacherous travelling conditions overnight and into the morning commute.
READ MORE: Full list of school bus cancellations and public transportation delays in southern Ontario
Much of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was under a freezing rain warning overnight but, the weather agency ended the warning just before 4 a.m.
A wind chill warning was issued just after 5 a.m. for a large portion of southern Ontario including Toronto, Hamilton, York and Durham Regions.
Snow began late Sunday afternoon across the GTA and lasted into the evening, before turning to rain overnight in the downtown core as the mercury inched above the freezing mark.
VIDEO: Environment Canada’s David Phillips says chilly temperatures will be unlike anything Toronto has experienced in decades
Ontario Provincial Police were busy responding to about one call every two minutes.
“We are seeing a lot of vehicles sliding off the roads into the ditch, single vehicles into the guardrail,” said Sgt. Dave Woodford off OPP traffic services. “If you don’t have to be out there, we suggest you wait until the roads are clear. Don’t try to attempt it because you have to be somewhere.”
READ MORE: Toronto issues extreme cold weather alert
BELOW: The full Skytracker weather forecast for Toronto and the GTA for Monday, January 6
An Arctic cold front is expected to move in behind the storm front as it moves across southern Ontario, causing temperatures to quickly plunge to several degrees below zero.
Many surfaces will likely be wet as temperatures plunge below zero. As a result, untreated surfaces may quickly become icy and slippery. The national weather agency warned pedestrians and motorists should try to avoid travel overnight into Monday morning.
Flash freeze warnings have been issued for: Ottawa, Cornwall, Brockville, Belleville-Quinte and Northumberland, Kingston, Prescott, Smits Falls, Stirling and Tweed.
Blizzard warnings have been issued for: Barrie, Orillia, Midland, Dufferin, Innisfil, Caledonia, Grey, Bruce, Haliburton, Halton, Peel, Huron, Kingston, Niagara, Parry Sound, Muskoka, Peterborough, Simcoe, Waterloo, Wellington, York and Durham.
Snowfall warnings were issued for Algonquin, Burk’s Falls, Bayfield Inlet, Haliburton, Parry Sound, and Muskoka, but have since ended.
READ MORE: Ottawa hit hard by nasty mix of snow and rain
Snow squall watches have also been issued for: Barrie, Orillia, Midland, Dufferin, Innisfil, Grey, Bruce, Haliburton, Halton, Peel, Huron, Perth and surrounding areas.
Areas north of Toronto were hit hard with snow overnight as the mercury stayed well below the freezing mark.
Well over 50 centimetres of snow fell in the Barrie-area Sunday and into Monday morning.
WATCH: Barrie hit hard with heavy snowfall
Dangerously cold temperatures will follow the storm as winds are expected to pickup.
READ MORE: Potentially dangerous weather on its way to southern Ontario
“The cold air is sweeping in behind this low pressure system and it’s some of the coldest air we have seen in years when you factor in the temperature and wind chill,” said Global’s Chief Meteorologist Anthony Farnell. “Late tonight, early tomorrow it’s going to feel like -40.”
Several school buses around the GTA have been cancelled on the first day back to school due to the winter storm. However, Toronto District School Board, the largest school board in Canada, said there are no bus cancellations Monday and all schools will remain open.
As Toronto residents continue to recover from an ice storm that left 300,000 hydro customers in the dark over the holidays, the latest bout of weather caused minor power outages around the city.
“We saw little bit, a couple of pockets in the west side of the city and then a few smaller, more localized outages,” said Tanya Bruckmueller of Toronto Hydro. “Most of them were restored overnight or dispatched early this morning.”
As of 12:35 p.m. more than 280 flights to and from Toronto Pearson International Airport have been cancelled or delayed. Travellers are asked to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
WATCH: Winter weather is causing turbulence for hundreds at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. Global’s Cindy Pom has the latest.
LIVE BLOG: Updates on the Ontario snow storm
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