A look back at Toronto's historic snowstorm the 'Blizzard of the Century'

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In January of 1999 then Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman did something the city will never forget. That was the year a blizzard dumped between 35-45 centimetres on the city.

It took an hour and a half to drive to my part-time job the day after the storm, and I was only going from around Avenue and Bloor to Yonge and Lawrence.

The subways of course were temporarily snowed-in, the airport was closed and many businesses decided to give their employees a day or two off after the blizzard had done its damage.

But, good ol' Mel figured it all out by soliciting the services of 400 troops, who took to city streets in armoured vehicles and eventually got Toronto up and running again.

Here's a look back at what was often referred to as the "Blizzard of the Century" in photos.

Toronto snow storm 1999

From skaliwag66

From JnL

From CP

Lead photo by

Christine Kelly. Writing by Derek Flack.

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