Snow day: Toronto digs itself out of mountains of snow after record storm

Toronto is digging itself out of mountains of snow on Monday after a massive winter storm on Sunday dumped around 50 centimetres of the white stuff or more in Toronto, depending on how close you are to the lakeside.

According to Environment Canada, snowfall totals at Toronto Pearson International Airport on Sunday hit 46 centimetres, making it the “highest daily total snowfall on record.”

“This brings the January 2026 snowfall total to 88.2 cm, which is the snowiest January and snowiest month since records began in 1937,” the weather agency said in a summary released early Monday.

Meanwhile, areas closer to Lake Ontario saw higher accumulations of snow. Snowfall amounts recorded at Billy Bishop Airport recorded 56 centimetres of snow, the summary noted.

The City of Toronto activated its “Major Snow Event Response Plan” and declared a Major Snowstorm Condition and Significant Weather Event due to Sunday’s storm. This means parking is prohibited on major snow routes as well as streetcar routes as city crews work to clean up the snow, which could take days.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said at a press conference on Monday that some plows are gradually being shifted from plowing to snow removal efforts, prioritizing hospitals and transit stops.

“In the coming days, we’ll ramp up removal operations, especially on narrow residential streets where space is tight,” Chow said.

3:14 Toronto snow operations get set to shift from clearing to removal

• Toronto snow operations get set to shift from clearing to removal
• Schools closed, many working from home following mega snow storm
• Snow clearing efforts continue at Toronto Pearson Airport, delays expected
• More flights at Toronto Pearson cancelled as winter storm continues

Previous Video

Next Video

City Manager Paul Johnson called it a “major scale removal of snow” and that it will take a few days to complete, Johnson said, adding the city has learned from major back-to-back winter storms that crippled the city last year in February.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“It takes days,” Johnson said. “You can’t get a storm of this magnitude and have it disappear in a 24 hour cycle. But the improvement we’re seeing incrementally is, I think, what’s different this year about the execution of the plan versus what we experienced certainly in February (2025).”

City officials would not say exactly how many days it would take to remove the excess amount of snow, and removal on major roads and side roads will occur over the next couple of days as plows work strategically to plow the roads first.

It’s a snow day for schools in Toronto, with both the Toronto District School Board and the Toronto Catholic District School Board closed on Monday.

As well, other GTA boards, including the Peel District School Board, Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, York Region District School Board, York Catholic District School Board, Durham District School Board and the Durham Catholic District School Board, are all closed to staff and students on Monday.

Toronto Pearson International Airport cancelled or delayed hundreds of domestic and international flights. Flight-tracking site FlightAware said more than 500 flights were cancelled at the airport Sunday.

3:45 Flights, schools cancelled in Toronto as ‘historic’ winter storm wallops Ontario

Meanwhile, several TTC subway routes are not in service. This includes the entire Line 6 Finch West:

• Line 1 Yonge-University: No service between St Clair West and Sheppard West stations due to weather conditions. Shuttle buses are running between St Clair West and Sheppard West.
• Line 1 Yonge-University: No service between Eglinton and Bloor-Yonge stations due to weather conditions. Shuttle buses are running between Eglinton and Bloor-Yonge.
• Line 2 Bloor-Danforth: No service between Kipling and Islington stations due to weather conditions. Shuttle buses are running between Kipling and St George.
• Line 2 Bloor-Danforth: No service between Woodbine and Kennedy stations due to weather conditions. Shuttle buses are running between Woodbine and Kennedy.
• Line 6 Finch West: No service between Finch West and Humber College stations due to weather conditions. Shuttle buses are running between Finch West and Humber College.

The Ontario Provincial Police said on Monday they were dealing with about 200 collisions and another 150 calls for vehicles stuck in ditches in the past 24 hours across the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area.

“Be prepared for narrow lanes and snow-covered shoulders as plows continue to push the snow clear,” the OPP said.