Mississauga residents spent Friday clearing driveways and side streets after a winter storm buried the city on Thursday, Jan. 15, closing schools across Peel and grounding a large share of flights at Toronto Pearson.
Another, lighter round of snow was expected to arrive by late Friday morning, so crews were not done yet.
A forecast that kept climbing
Environment Canada upgraded its snowfall warning for the Toronto area from yellow to orange on Thursday, at first calling for 20 to 30 centimetres. By mid-morning the agency had raised that to as much as 35 centimetres, and by early afternoon it said some parts of the GTA could see up to 40.
Travel will be hazardous. There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic.
— Environment Canada
Monica Vaswani, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, told CP24 the storm had been a particularly tough one to forecast because the models had been flip-flopping over the previous couple of days. She said its effects could stretch over several days.
This is not your run-of-the-mill snowstorm.
— Monica Vaswani, meteorologist, Environment Canada
At Pearson, which sits inside Mississauga's boundaries, about 9 centimetres had fallen by 7:25 a.m., and more than 20 centimetres had come down by the end of the day. About 23 per cent of the day's 961 scheduled arrivals and departures were cancelled, and about 35 per cent of arriving flights were delayed. The orange warning was lifted for most of the GTA by late afternoon.
Bitter cold made things worse, with a daytime high around -9 C that felt closer to -22 with the wind.
Schools closed, city programs delayed
The Peel District School Board cancelled all buses and closed its schools for the day. The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board also closed all of its schools.
City of Mississauga facilities, including City Hall, community centres and libraries, stayed open at regular hours. Scheduled programs and classes were held back until noon, registered programs started at 3 p.m., and some library locations were expected to close early and cancel evening programs.
Highways and ramps
Ontario Provincial Police reported about 260 crashes across the GTA and Hamilton area within 24 hours. Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said there were many ramp closures as vehicles got stuck, including on Highway 410.
The 410, we had problems up on the west end toward Brampton and Mississauga and then all the way down to Burlington.
— Sgt. Kerry Schmidt, Ontario Provincial Police
Metrolinx said UP Express trains between Union Station and Pearson would run every 30 minutes instead of every 15 on Friday because of the heavy snow.
What the city is asking of residents
The city asked drivers to keep vehicles off roads and lower driveways so plows can clear the road, sidewalk and windrow. On collection days, it said bins should sit back from the curb so plows do not hit them.
Residents were also asked to clear catch basins to help prevent flooding, clear around any fire hydrant on their property, and keep furnace and hot water tank vents clear, since covered vents can be a carbon monoxide hazard. The city urged people to check on neighbours who may need help, especially older adults and people with disabilities or limited mobility.
Crews follow a priority route system, so some roads and sidewalks are cleared before others. Residents can check the city's online plow tracker, or call 311 (905-615-4311 from outside city limits) with questions.
More on the way
CTV News Toronto weather anchor Lyndsay Morrison said the GTA could pick up another five to seven centimetres on Friday, starting late in the morning and continuing into the evening, with more possible over the weekend.
