Heavy Snowfall Warning Issued for Toronto: Morning Commute to Be Affected

A heavy snowfall warning is in place for Toronto with 10 centimetres of snow expected to affect the morning commute on Wednesday, according to Environment Canada. Schools will be open on Wednesday, but bus service may be delayed due to the weather, said the Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board on social media. Light snow is expected to begin around 7 a.m. and get heavier sometime between 8 to 9 a.m., said meteorologist Yoseph Mengesha with Environment Canada. Residents are urged to plan ahead with extra time for travel due to poor visibility from the heavy and blowing snow, said the national weather agency in a yellow snowfall warning. An Alberta clipper, a low pressure system, is forecast to bring heavy snow to Toronto, Durham and York region, said Mengesha. The weather system is expected to ease late in the afternoon, but may also impact the evening commute. "Roads could be slippery at times and especially the rush hour traffic will be impacted," he said, adding wind gusts could get up to 50 kilometre per hour in the afternoon. It's a high of -1 C in Toronto, but with wind chill that will feel more like -16 in the morning and -7 later in the afternoon. As of 5:20 a.m. Wednesday, Halton and Peel region have not been placed under a weather warning but are expected to receive about five centimetres of snow. Temperatures this week and going into the weekend are colder than usual for this time of year, said Mengesha. He said there could be light snow Wednesday evening and that not much snowfall is expected in the days ahead. Airport, city ready for snow Crews are prepared to clear away snow and ice off the airfield and departing planes, said Toronto's Pearson International Airport on social media. "A traffic management initiative will be in place this morning for departing flights to ensure the safe and efficient flow of aircraft," it said. Snow removal from last week's winter weather will be paused so city crews can focus on salting and plowing Wednesday, said the City of Toronto on social media Tuesday. The city said plowing will begin when snow accumulation reaches the required threshold, such as five centimetres on major roads and 2.5 centimetres on expressways. City crews salted roads Tuesday evening in anticipation of the upcoming snowfall, it said.