Deep Freeze & New Storm Will Follow Bizarre Winter Weather Event

There’s one thing you can say about this winter – it’s had something for everyone.

It started with a record setting warm spell in December and January.

It continued with a deep freeze that seemed like it would never end.

And then came Thursday, when we had all those things you’d expect in a winter storm and a few things you didn’t – heavy wet flurries, slush and even thunder and lightning.

The Alberta Clipper-like disturbance only lasted about two hours. But its effects were felt for a lot longer than that.

There were scores of accidents on the highways and the suddenly slippery roads at the height of the storm.

GO was forced to cancel or delay some trains and TTC surface routes slowed to a crawl.

Salt solutions that had already built up on the wires brought many of them down and had others short out, leaving more than 6,000 people in the dark in Scarborough and the downtown core. Traffic lights blinked out over a wide area.

And then there was that bizarre lightning and thunder show that no one was expecting.

“It looked like regular lightning but all the power in my building kept on going funky,” recalls Edward Vidomski.

Toronto Hydro did its best to get the lights back on quickly. “We had crews on call and they all went out this morning,” reveals spokesperson Tanya Bruckmueller  “At 11 o’clock we had the majority of the outages restored.”

And if you weren’t at home or in your car, you didn’t escape unscathed. The aftermath of the disturbance left a miserable mess on the sidewalks for pedestrians. There were hundreds of puddles and slushy surfaces left behind, as those on foot carefully picked their way through all the dampness.

“It was gross,” grimaces Samantha Bruton. “I’m soaking wet.”

Still, we got off easy. Areas of cottage country got hammered with a major fall that will have them digging out for a while.

But the worst may be yet to come. Just days after we received a brief respite from those bone chilling February temperatures, they’re on their way back.

By nightfall, the winds had picked up to 60 kilometres an hour, drying up much of the mess but leaving a slippery glaze behind.

Friday will dawn brisk and cold with wind chills in the -24 range.

And if all that’s not bad enough, consider this: we’re expecting a major winter storm on Sunday that could bring substantial snow and freezing rain to the area.

And the effects are expected to linger into Monday – just in time for another back to work rerun.

For the current weather conditions and the long range forecast, click here.

To read meteorologist Michael Kuss’ blog on the gathering storm, click here.