toronto snow storm

Toronto digging out from massive dump of snow after brutal winter storm

Toronto is buried in snow after a nasty winter system rolled through the region Wednesday evening, causing chaos and cancellations across the city on Thursday morning.

At least 15 centimetres of snow now blankets Toronto as city crews work hard to clean up the mess.

Even before the snow began to fall, the TTC announced heavy cuts to service, including the closure of the entire Line 3 Scarborough RT and 41 bus stops located on hilly terrain that would be difficult to service in snowy conditions.

One of Toronto's most notoriously dangerous stretches of road after a winter storm is the steep hill on Avenue Road south of St. Clair, where drivers often struggle to gain traction in heavy snow.

City roads are treacherous, but the stakes are even higher on 400 series highways, where several major collisions were reported amid the snowfall.

Close calls, crashes, and countless stuck vehicles were reported.

Over at Toronto Pearson International Airport, upwards of 100 flights were cancelled as the local weather system coincided with a winter storm striking parts of the U.S.

The conditions have led to school bus cancellations, but it is technically not a snow day for kids as TDSB schools remain open.

Others made the best of a bad situation, like one person recorded on the doorbell camera of a Toronto residence, blasting by on a snowboard towed by a vehicle.

Despite the massive snowfall, Toronto was relatively lucky compared to other regions of southern Ontario, where ice accretion caused damage evocative of the destructive 2013 ice storm that rocked the province.

Norfolk county was especially hard hit, with tree branches and power lines encased in a thick layer of ice.

Toronto is expected to see another light dusting of snow Thursday evening, though it looks like the worst of this system has passed, leaving what is hopefully the last heavy shovelling and plowing activity of the season.

Lead photo by

A Great Capture


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