Toronto buried under 26 cm of snow. Here’s how to track your snowplow

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A massive snow dump of 26 centimetres has blanketed parts of the GTA on Thursday, with Environment Canada warning more flurries could be on the way tonight.

Across Toronto, the storm forced dozens of schools to close, disrupted the morning commute, and triggered a wave of parking fines as plows worked to clear roads following the extreme weather event.

• IN PICTURES: Ontario’s biggest winter storm of the season

Already, the City of Toronto says close to 700 tickets have been issued this morning equating to nearly $140,000 collectively, for drivers who parked along designated snow routes.

The announcement comes following a stern warning from officials on Tuesday, where they revealed anyone blocking a snow route could be subject to a fine of $200 and their vehicle could be tagged, towed or impounded.

As snow begins to taper off and people begin shovelling their driveways, here’s a look at when you can expect a snowplow to visit your neighbourhood.

The City of Toronto

For Toronto residents, the city has launched a PlowTO Map, that allows people to track plowing progress in their area.

Residents can enter their address to see when their street was last cleared, with updates categorized by timeframes ranging from less than four hours ago to more than eight hours.

The system also distinguishes between different types of clearing vehicles, including road plows, sidewalk plows, cycling plows, and salters.

Vincent Sferrazza, Toronto’s director of transportation services, said plows began clearing the Don Valley Parkway, Gardiner Expressway, and Allen Road at around 4 a.m.

Crews will continue working throughout the day and into Friday as wet, heavy snow continues to accumulate. He emphasized that snow clearing is an ongoing operation and urged residents to remain patient.

“We simply ask our resident to please be patient, this will be an ongoing exercise,” he said at a press conference, adding that all 1,400 pieces of equipment have been deployed.

In addition to the numerous parking tickets already issued this morning, Sferrazza emphasizes that enforcement will continue throughout the day.

The City of Hamilton

Hamilton city officials have also launched their own snowplow tracker called the “Hamilton Plow Tracker.”

Though you can’t type in your address, the service offers a detailed map view of the city where users can zoom into their approximate location and see where plow are as recently are “now” or one hour ago.

However, the city notes there may be a slight “delay” and that locations may not reflect “real time positions.”

In addition, they also say roads are “plowed based on priority,” the first being main routes and escarpment crossings, the second being collector roads and the third being neighbourhood streets.

Officials also note that the vehicles are not only used for winter activities but also used for general maintenance programs.

“The map displays all active City owned road snow clearing vehicles and contracted vehicles. Please note there is a delay, so the shown locations may not reflect their real time positions,” officials wrote on the site.

The rest of Ontario

For residents who live outside the GTA, the Ministry of Transportation has launched a “Track my Plow” service where you can view the number of provincial snowplows.

It includes regions such as Durham, Sudbury, York, Hamilton and London among others.

As of 10:30 a.m., nearly 800 snowplows are on the road across the province.