Toronto, GTA get first snowfall of the season

Messy commute amid first snowfall in Toronto A swift response to the first major snowfall in Toronto and the GTA by crews couldn't prevent a messy commute for drivers across the region.

Toronto got its first taste of winter weather Wednesday as a low-pressure system brought snow to the city.

The entire GTA was under a winter weather travel advisory, warning of up to five centimetres of snow possible for Wednesday. Crews responded to dozens of weather-related collisions.

Here’s a recap of how the day unfolded:

9:15 p.m.

Outside of Toronto, emergency crews are responding to several crashes as a result of the weather.

In Oakville, a car crashed into a ditch on Trafalgar Road, north of Dundas Street.

Meanwhile, several vehicles were involved in a collision at Mavis Road and Central Parkway in Mississauga.

No serious injuries have been reported.

7 p.m.

The winter weather advisory remains in effect for Toronto.

Environment Canada says two to five centimetres of snow is in the forecast.

“A low pressure system is bringing snow to the area this evening. Occasional low visibility is possible. The snow is expected to taper off this evening,” the advisory reads.

“Motorists should expect hazardous winter driving conditions and adjust travel plans accordingly.”

The federal weather agency says there is a 40 per cent chance of flurries overnight. Those along the lakeshore could see showers.

On Thursday, flurries will end near noon and the rest of the day will be mainly cloudy with a high of 0 C with a wind chill of -11 C in the afternoon.

5 p.m.

The City of Toronto says as of 4 p.m. salting has been completed on major roads in Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke and York. Crews are now salting on local roads in Scarborough and North York.

Plows will be sent out if snow accumulates past 2.5 centimetres, and sidewalk and bikeway clearing will begin if the snow reaches 2 centimetres.

2:30 p.m.

It’s been a busy day on highways with Ontario Provincial Police responding to around two dozen vehicle collisions, Sgt. Kerry Schmidt tells CP24.

“We are clearing those off as quickly as we can and it seems that as we clear those more come in. It was certainly even busier during that, that initial precipitation that was coming down,” he said.

“This is certainly a wake-up call for many motorists to remember that you do need to adjust your driving.”

No serious injuries have been reported.

Schmidt advises drivers to be prepared, including having an emergency kit in their vehicles.

“I’ve actually travelled around the GTA and actually went north of the GTA up through Barry into Orillia. There was a completely different environment with major snow accumulations,” he said.

While the system may have moved off to the east, Schmidt is still encouraging motorists, especially those in Central Ontario, to avoid non-essential travel.

“You may be leaving at conditions where they’re dry, but you end up going to areas where it is snow covered,” he said.

For the evening drive, Schmidt is urging motorists to have their full head lighting system turned on at all times and an extra space behind the vehicle in front of them so they have time to stop.

“Just take your time, take it easy,” he said.

According to Environment Canada, the snow may have a “significant impact” on the afternoon rush hour before it tapers off this evening.

1 p.m.

OPP say that road conditions are “continuing to deteriorate” in parts of cottage country, including Huntsville and Bracebridge. The OPP are warning drivers to “avoid non-essential travel” for the time being.

11:30 a.m.

Toronto officials say that they will have 800 pieces of road equipment available to respond to today’s storm as well as another 300 pieces of sidewalk equipment. Toronto’s Director of Transportation Operations Vincent Sferrazza tells CP24 that he expects that there will be a “full activation” of road equipment later today, once the snow has fallen.

“We actually began operations last night. We started liquid brining expressways, hills, bridges and main intersections at around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. (on Thursday) and finished this morning at 2 a.m. We began salting some of the major arterial roads, the expressways and some collector roads, at about 9 a.m. and salting will continue throughout the day. Right now our first our first priority is  major arterial roads and collectors but local residential roads will activated very shortly later today.”

11 a.m.

Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson says that today’s storm will be “the first real widespread snowfall event for many parts of the GTA.” He tells CP24 that while the total accumulation won’t be significant it will have an impact on the afternoon commute, especially for anyone planning to travel to areas just to the east or west of the GTA.

“It is important to know that to the east of the GTA from Cobourg into Kingston a snow squall warning is in effect as southwest winds bring in some lake effect activity. Also for anyone planning travel to the west and the northwest of the GTA, a blowing snow warning is in effect. They have a lot of snow on the ground already and the gusty winds today will pick that up and blow it around,” he said. “In general, there will be highly variable conditions, and it is important for folks to be aware that even though it won’t be as bad in their immediate vicinity they could encounter some pretty significant conditions in areas just to the west and the east.”

10:30 a.m.

Environment Canada has issued dozens of winter weather travel advisories and snow squall warnings across Ontario today. Most of the snow squall warnings are outside of the GTA, with the closest one currently covering Cobourg where Environment Canada is warning of 15 to 25 centimetres of snow. Here is a look at all the advisories and warnings:

9:30 a.m.

CAA South Central Ontario spokesperson Nadia Matos tells CP24 that the automobile association is already experiencing a higher than normal call volume so far this morning and expects that trend to continue as the day goes on. Matos says that as the temperature dips, CAA typically sees a spike in calls for battery failures. She says that the road conditions today are also likely to result in an increased demand for CAA’s towing services.

“It is slippery and slick so we will likely see some towing and winching as the day goes on. That means people who have lost control of their vehicles and are a ditch or wherever that might be,” she said.

9 a.m.

Richmond Hill Mayor David West says that snow removal in the city will continue despite an ongoing strike by some municipal workers, including some plow operators. West, however, says that it is possible that there could be some delays in clearing roads and sidewalks as a contractor used by the city has been asked to take on additional responsibilities during the strike.

“In regular times we have a contractor that takes on about half of our city. But because of the strike we have asked that contractor take on more responsibilities,” he told CP24 on Wednesday morning. “Our snow removal could be delayed a little bit. We do have crews ready to go. They have actually been out all night already, doing some salting and getting ready for the event. We are not expecting huge delays in our winter maintenance; it will be similar to what we have always had.”

7:15 a.m.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt is warning drivers to be aware that road conditions could change quickly amid today’s winter storm. Schmidt told CP24 on Wednesday morning that while traction is still fine on most 400-series highway, it could deteriorate throughout the day.

“It is very simple. Share the road and be aware of your surroundings. Once that precipitation starts falling you don’t get the visual clues that the roads are actually slippery and you only realize that when you hit the breaks,” he told CP24.