GTA Digs Out From Biggest One Day Feb. Snowfall In 30 Years
Posted February 7, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The big winter blast of 2008 was a lot like a party crasher. No one invited him, few enjoyed his miserable company, he left a real mess behind and now everyone is suffering a hangover.
How bad was what you just lived through? Consider this: the 30 centimetres that fell in some areas over a 24-hour period ended the biggest one-day February snowstorm in three decades.
And how bad you got hit depended a lot on where you were. The downtown core got 25 centimetres. Pearson Airport was grounded by 33. Mississauga was buried by about 40 centimetres. And Milton was struggling to handle an astounding 50.
Now comes the next phase of the post-party blues – cleaning it all up.
Much of the city went through a familiar headache on Thursday, as the sun finally showed its face for a few hours. Most got up early and tried to get rid of a mountain of snow that left them wondering whether to shovel it – or try to climb it.
But succeeding in clearing your driveway was only the first in a series of challenges. You then had to navigate the rush hour. It was replete with icy roads, slush covered streets, snow-packed sidewalks and that endless slow crawl to the office.
The city’s 600 plows worked non-stop to try to clear it all away, but with more than 5,000 kilometres of roads to get to, some people wondered when they would reach their street. In some cases, they’d already come and gone and the winds and the weather put all of it back. Others simply had to wait.
“We’re telling people sometime around between 7 and 8pm, we’ll be done all of the local street plowing,” promises Myles Currie of Toronto Transportation. He claims they’re actually ahead of schedule but are being hampered by parked cars.
The tired but tireless people behind the big machines are pleading for your understanding. “Just be patient,” asks one. “Our crews are all out and we’re on our way.”
But that isn’t soon enough for those who managed to get their cars out of their driveways, only to get stuck on their snow-clogged streets. One man simply gave up. “We’re just starting the car,” he explains. “That’s all. We’re not moving it.” Asked if he planned to even dig it out, his reply was instant. “No way,” he concludes.
To check on the progress of the plowing operations in the City of Toronto , call (416) 338-SNOW.
If all this mess was tough on you, imagine how it affected the people who use the roads to save lives. Calls to paramedics, spurred by shovelling homeowners with chest pains and those who fell on the icy surfaces, were up 25 per cent during the storm and its aftermath. But they had trouble getting there. “Getting through traffic is a little bit slower,” confirms Stewart Morris of Toronto EMS. “The roads are a bit slushier.”
Firefighters are asking homeowners who have hydrants on their properties to clear them off and make sure they’re fully visible in case there are some flames amongst all the ice.
The sound of shovels scraping and those groaning while carrying them played a kind of reluctant winter music across the GTA. People without their own snowblowers were forced to simply grunt, grin and bear it. Most were compelled to do the big dig over and over and over again, some as many as four times, as the relentless onslaught continued.
How to safely shovel your driveway
The majority are fed up with it all. “It’s beautiful but, you know, I think enough’s enough now,” relates an exhausted Judy Karacs. “On for spring!”
Still, in the best tradition of the Great White North, she remains stoic in the face of it all. “I was buried. It was a rough, rough night for all, but, you know, that’s Canada for you.”
Maureen Talty had a double whammy as she tried to find her car in all that white. “I shovelled it out and then the plow came and I had to shovel to get back in,” she complains.
Don’t feel like shovelling? That’s your prerogative, of course, but you’ll have to at least clear your sidewalk. Under the law, you have 24 hours from the time the snow stops or the city will do it for you – and charge you $105 for the privilege. Seniors and the disabled can get it done for free, provided they fill out an application form. Find out more by calling (416) 392-7768.
So how much fell in your area? Here are the totals in centimetres.
Pearson International Airport: 33 (a new Feb. 6 th record, breaking the 19.8. from 1964)
Downtown: 25
Markham: 30
Milton: 50
Mississauga: 40-50
Sutton: 35
And then there are the folks in Dufferin County, who weathered a mind boggling 55 centimetres that shut down every road in the area for hours.
But they – and you – had better get ready for more stooping and scooping. There’s additional snow in the forecast every day until Tuesday, when we could get yet another huge dump that may leave more for you to get rid of all over again.
If you can find the room.
So how much has this big blowout cost taxpayers? “Right now we’re looking at $4 million,” assess Currie. “[That’s] likely to increase, but we’re going to get into some snow removal tonight in the B.I.A.s in the Kensington Market Area where the streets are very narrow. So the costs will increase over the next few days.”
The lesson from all this: the next time you hold a party, don’t send Old Man Winter an invitation. If this year is any indication, he may never leave.
Check the latest forecast here
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