Slippery morning commute for drivers as GTA hit with snow
Posted December 12, 2017 5:37 am.
Last Updated December 12, 2017 12:11 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Winter doesn’t officially arrive for nine days, but the first significant snowfall of the season arrived in the GTA on Tuesday — and it had a big impact on the morning commute.
Traffic was already an issue early on, with parts of the Highway 401 closed due to jack-knifed tractor-trailers. OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said there have been more than 10 jack-knifed tractor-trailers overnight.
Much of southern Ontario was under a special weather statement, including Toronto and the GTA. It ended just before 11 a.m. on Tuesday. However, snow squall watches and warnings remain in effect for some areas of southern Ontario.
Toronto received around six centimetres of snow overnight, and a few more centimetres by Tuesday afternoon — bringing the total to 10.
While the snow has ended in the GTA, the region will have to deal with colder temperatures. 680NEWS meteorologist Jill Taylor said the winds will pick up, and by the afternoon it will feel like -14 C. The windy conditions will continue overnight as the windchill drops to -19.
Meanwhile, Toronto’s medical officer of health issued an extreme cold Weather alert, which will be in effect until further notice. Extreme cold weather alerts are issued when the temperature is forecast to reach -15 C Celsius or colder, or when the windchill is forecast to reach -20 or colder.
If you are flying out of Pearson International Airport, check your flight status before heading to the airport. At one point, at least 150 flights in and out of the airport were cancelled.
