Warm up on the way after freezing Wednesday morning
Posted January 29, 2014 6:30 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Environment Canada has ended a windchill warning for the GTA and Toronto as the mercury climbed.
The federal weather forecaster ended its alert mid-morning Wednesday. Temperatures felt like -30 C earlier in the morning.
There’s a high of -11 C in the forecast, going up to between -2 C to -5 C on Thursday and by Friday, it will feel “balmy,” CityNews weather specialist Frank Ferragine said, with daytime highs of -1 C.
According to 680News meteorologist Harold Hosein, there could be some snow on Thursday evening and into the overnight hours.
An extreme weather alert is still in effect for Toronto. It’s issued by the city to open up more shelter spaces and encourage the homeless to come indoors.
Click here for the weather forecast. Click here to see school bus cancellations and school closures.
Outside Toronto, the area stretching from Belleville through to Kingston is under a snow squall warning and blowing snow is likely outside the GTA, Ferragine said.
Some businesses benefiting from cold weather
The cold weather has been good for some business owners, 680News reporter Jaime Pulfer found.
After nine straight days of an extreme cold weather alert, one Toronto store manager is feeling warm and cozy.
SportingLife has seen a significant increase in sales of high-end winter coats like Canada Goose.
The cost is “about $600 up to about $800,” Sherway Gardens store manager Chris MacDonald told 680News.
He says they can’t keep them in stock, because customers are willing to pay.
“We’ve been doing very well with Canada Goose this year,” MacDonald said.
“Price-point hasn’t been the issue. It’s obviously been very cold and everyone is looking for really warm jackets.”
The deep freeze has also been hard on vehicles, from dead batteries to flat tires from potholes.
At Active Green + Ross – Complete Tire & Auto Centre in south Etobicoke, there has been a 25 per cent jump in business, while big box retailers like Loews said the extreme cold and the ice storm have combined to “substantially” increase sales.
