A messy mix of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain swept across Markham on Wednesday, Feb. 18, taking school buses off the road across York Region and slowing drivers through the day, a day after the city declared a significant weather event.

The City of Markham made the declaration on Tuesday, Feb. 17, after Environment Canada issued a winter storm watch for the area. The city said forecasts called for 10 to 15 centimetres of snow from Wednesday morning into the evening, with a risk of freezing rain and ice pellets making roads icy and slippery.

Later on Tuesday, Environment Canada upgraded the watch to a winter storm warning for Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan, calling for up to five centimetres of snow and ice pellets and the possibility of several hours of freezing rain, mainly west of Toronto. Aurora, King, Newmarket and Stouffville moved to a snowfall warning.

Roads and walkways will likely be difficult to navigate. There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic.

— Environment Canada

Buses off the road

Early Wednesday, Student Transportation Services of York Region cancelled all school bus and taxi transportation across the region "due to inclement weather." Schools in the York Region District School Board and the York Catholic District School Board stayed open.

Across the Greater Toronto Area, about 160 collisions were reported on highways after 5 a.m. CAA said it had received about 2,600 calls for help, about 70 per cent of them from drivers who were in ditches or stuck in snow. At Toronto Pearson, 5.6 centimetres of snow had fallen by 1 p.m., and more than 200 flights had been cancelled by 4 p.m. GO Transit ran on a special schedule.

What the city is asking

Markham said its operations crews clear primary roads first, then secondary roads, then local streets. The city asked residents to avoid unnecessary travel and to use extreme caution if they must drive.

  • Don't park on city streets during winter weather events.

  • Don't push or throw snow from driveways or walkways onto the road.

  • Stay off ponds, stormwater ponds and waterways.

  • Track plow progress with the city's Winter Maintenance App.

A short thaw ends

The storm arrived days after a long cold stretch finally broke. On Feb. 14, Environment Canada meteorologist Eric Tomlinson said southwestern winds were bringing milder air into the region after Toronto recorded 23 straight days below freezing, the longest such run since the winter of 2015.

By Wednesday evening, the winter storm warning for Toronto had ended, but a freezing drizzle advisory was in effect, with Environment Canada warning that roads, walkways and other surfaces would likely turn icy. Durham Region and parts of northern York Region remained under a yellow snowfall warning.