College and university campuses closed, slow afternoon commute ahead as freezing rain blankets Toronto

Freezing rain in the Greater Toronto Area has forced some school closures, bus cancellations and traffic delays on Wednesday, and could result in a messy commute in the afternoon.

Environment Canada says freezing rain continues to move across the region and will persist for much of the day before changing to freezing drizzle in the evening.

Freezing drizzle is expected to continue Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.

“When you have that slightly deeper layer of cold, like we’re experiencing right now, you still have rain but it falls into a strong enough cold layer that it turns into these pellets, these little beads of ice,” Global News chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell said.

“The heaviest stuff is through the morning but light freezing rain will continue and that temperature’s going to be steady at -3 C during the day. It’s not going to melt by itself.”

Ontario Provincial Police are warning motorists to be mindful of dangerous road conditions due to untreated surfaces.

Officials say highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery.

“Hopefully we’ll see the city do a full onslaught with the salt trucks and the plows getting out there and continuing to do rounds, ” Farnell said.

“As it continues to fall, ice pellets are a bit different than snow. Salt doesn’t work quite as efficiently. You need to go back out there and re-treat those same road surfaces.”

The deteriorating weather condition forced a number of schools in the Greater Toronto Area to close for the day and bus service was cancelled for others.

Colleges and universities across Toronto also shut down their campuses and cancelled classes Wednesday afternoon.

Utility companies are also warning residents that ice build-up may cause tree branches to break and power outages may occur.

Winter weather travel advisory

The Toronto Transit Commission had to bring in buses to replace the 506 Carlton and 512 St. Clair streetcar routes due to inclement weather.

Toronto Pearson Airport said the freezing rain has impacted flight schedules. Passengers are urged to check their flight status before arriving at the airport.

Travelers at Billy Bishop Airport are also being told to check with their airline for flight status updates.