ABOVE: Yet another storm has hit southern Ontario, dumping lots of snow and snarling traffic and flights, before heading towards the Maritimes. Christina Stevens reports.
TORONTO – Commuters across southern Ontario are being advised to drive with caution on Wednesday and people in the southern Maritimes are bracing for another blast of winter.
Residents of southern Ontario can expect a slow, messy commute Wednesday as snowfall warnings were issued for much of the Golden Horseshoe.
Snow began to fall in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) just before midnight Tuesday, and is expected to continue through much of Wednesday.
Snowfall accumulations of 10 to 15 centimetres can be expected from Sarnia to Toronto and into eastern Ontario by the time the snow tapers off Wednesday evening.
READ MORE: Snow causes delays in the air and on the ground
Environment Canada issued snowfall warnings ahead of the low pressure system for Windsor, Leamington, St. Thomas Chatham-Kent, Hamilton, Haldimand, Burlington, Oakville, Niagara Falls, Welland, St. Catharines, Grimsby, Brantford, Simcoe, Toronto and Peel and York and Durham regions.
Watch below: Bad weather doesn’t always pay off for tow truck drivers. Mark Carcasole reports.
But according to Global News’ chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell, the worst may be over for GTA residents.
“The heaviest snow has moved away from the GTA,” Farnell said. “We saw anywhere from 15 to 20 centimetres in six hours this morning.”
Farnell said light snow will continue until about 5 p.m. leaving another two to four centimetres across the GTA.
Records Set
Snowfall in the GTA set a record Wednesday:
- 15 centimetres fell as of 1 p.m.
- Old record, set in 2011, was 11.6 centimetres
- Already surpassed February’s average with 22 centimetres of snow
Travel Delays
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Travel delays had started to amass throughout the city by mid-afternoon. Just after noon, the Toronto Police closed the northbound lanes of the Don Valley Parkway at Millwood Road due to poor driving conditions. They reopened about an hour later after plows could clear the road.
They’re advising drivers to stay off the road if it’s not absolutely necessary.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) closed the Scarborough RT for Wednesday afternoon in order to clear snow and ice from the tracks.
Travellers can expect flight delays or cancellations as the storm system moves across the southern part of the province.
As of 1:12 p.m., more than 300 flights in and out of Toronto Pearson International Airport in total were cancelled. Travellers are asked to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
School buses were cancelled in several regions including Halton, Peel, York and Dufferin-Peel. However, Toronto District School Board, the largest school board in Canada, said there were no cancellations and all schools will remain open.
Storm expected to bring heavy snow, strong winds to parts of Atlantic Canada
A winter storm is expected to start hitting southern Nova Scotia and southeastern New Brunwick by noon Thursday and to move through the Maritimes and into parts of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Environment Canada is calling for between 15 and 25 centimetres in most of Nova Scotia and slightly less in southern New Brunswick and eastern PEI.
The largest snowfalls will be in southern Nova Scotia, while northern New Brunswick will escape with just a few centimetres.
Federal forecasters are predicting the storm will move through the Maritimes quickly and that Thursday will be a clear day.
U.S. Northeast, Midwest hit hard
Airlines are also cancelling thousands of flights in the U.S. because of snow and freezing rain in the Northeast and Midwest.
FlightStats says over 3,200 flights had been cancelled by 4 p.m. Wednesday. That follows almost 2,000 cancellations on Tuesday and another 2,500 on Monday.
Most of the cancelled flights were from the New York-area airports, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Washington. Regional airline Cape Air alone cancelled more than 200 flights, including nearly every flight planned from airports in Massachusetts.
United Airlines warned that the disruptions will affect flights in the Midwest, including Chicago and Cleveland, too. United and other airlines are allowing passengers to change their tickets without the usual change fees.
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