Mississauga faced a second round of winter weather on Tuesday as Environment Canada warned of freezing rain, one day after snow slowed the first full commute of the new year.
The new year began in a deep freeze, with Environment Canada forecasting wind chills near -16 C overnight Friday in Mississauga and other parts of the western GTA.
Significant weather event declared Monday
The City of Mississauga declared a significant weather event at 8:20 a.m. Monday, Jan. 5, in response to a yellow snowfall warning from Environment Canada. Forecasters expected about 10 centimetres of snow at Toronto Pearson and in other parts of the Greater Toronto Area, with heavier amounts possible to the north.
The declaration, made under the province's Minimum Maintenance Standards for Municipal Highways, gives crews more time to clear roads while they focus on keeping major routes passable.
The hours of operation for winter maintenance will be extended to assist in cleanup. Service level timing will start once the declaration is lifted and the event has ended.
— City of Mississauga, on social media
The city said the event ended Monday afternoon, and by about 2:30 p.m. crews had begun salting residential streets, sidewalks and bus stops.
At Toronto Pearson, the airport said crews were ready to plow runways, taxiways and apron areas and that all departing flights would head to its Central Deicing Facility before takeoff. A traffic management initiative was in place to regulate the flow of departing aircraft, and the airport's departures page showed a number of delays and cancellations Monday.
Travellers are encouraged to check their flight status before coming to the airport.
— Toronto Pearson
Freezing rain warning Tuesday
Environment Canada issued a freezing rain warning for Tuesday, saying up to five millimetres of ice could build up in Toronto, Mississauga and parts of Durham Region. The freezing rain was expected to begin near midday and end early in the evening, possibly preceded by patchy freezing drizzle and mixed at times with snow or ice pellets. Areas close to the Lake Ontario shoreline could see very little ice.
The weather agency warned that roads and walkways would likely become icy and slippery, that icy surfaces could be hard to see, and that local power outages were possible.
Keep cars off the street
The city is reminding residents not to park on the street during snowfalls. Under rules approved by council in October, parking on city streets is suspended during citywide winter parking restrictions, except where signs explicitly allow it, and violators face a $150 fine. The city said Monday that parking enforcement has issued more than 1,000 tickets so far this winter.
However, there are still many areas across the city where vehicles remain parked on roads, despite the restriction. This prevents proper plowing of roads and clearing of windrows.
— City of Mississauga spokesperson
This winter, the city is clearing windrows at about 134,000 driveways and has added secondary sidewalks to its clearing routes. Residents can follow Mississauga Snow on X, sign up for winter parking restriction alerts or call 311 for updates.
