Toronto issues cold weather alert
Posted February 10, 2012 8:51 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – The City of Toronto has issued an extreme cold weather alert.
Environment Canada has also issued a special weather statement due to a risk of a flash freeze in the GTA.
Flurries will roll in during the afternoon, then wet snow around 8 p.m., and there’s the chance of a flash freeze, but it won’t arrive until after the rush hour — if at all.
Environment Canada is forecasting between 2-4 centimetres of snow for the GTA Friday night, and with strong winds, that could lead to blowing snow.
680News meteorologist Jill Taylor said this is not a typical flash freeze situation.
“We certainly won’t have significant ice on the roads or the walkways. There may be a brief period of some icing as the temperatures starts to drop. I think the bigger situation will be the snow and blowing snow that we will encounter later this evening,” Taylor said.
Nevertheless, Peter Noehammer, Toronto’s director of Transportation Services, told 680News his crews have already prepped the roads.
“We’re putting salt brine down on the major expressways, and hills and bridges. We did that overnight Thursday into Friday, so that puts a little bit of salt residual on the roadways, so that as the snow starts falling it already starts to melt,” Noehammer said.
Noehammer said the mild winter has been good for his budget. He closed out 2011 with a leftover of $2-3 million, and an additional $4-5 million in savings at the end of January. Total savings because of the mild winter: $6-8 million.
In terms of the temperatures, Taylor said there is definitely a chill in the air — the wind chill through the weekend in the -12 C to -20 C range.
“Cold north wind, I think that’ll be the big shocker for most people. It’s quite cold this weekend, so just be prepared if you have outdoor activities to bundle up,” she said.
The City of Toronto is advising homeless people to seek shelter because of the cold weather and windchills.
Extreme cold weather can be life-threatening to people who spend much of their time outdoors.
During an extreme cold weather alert more spaces are made available in homeless shelters.
The cold snap won’t last long, as temperatures are forecast to return to above normal by Monday or Tuesday.
