Scarborough, North York hardest hit by Friday’s spring snowstorm

Scarborough and North York received the brunt of Friday’s spring snowstorm which saw more snow fall than at any point this past winter.

According to Environment Canada, 18 centimetres of snow were recorded at observation centres in Scarborough and North York while another 13 centimetres was reported in Brampton.

Pearson International Airport reported almost 12 centimetres of accumulation – almost double the total in one day for the entire month of March (6.6 cm) and a third more than in all of February (8.2 cm). Despite that airport officials say only six per cent of scheduled flights – 58 in total – were canceled by the airlines on Friday.

The National Weather Service had said peak snowfall rates of two centimetres per hour were possible at the height of the storm.

“This will likely be the last of the snow for the rest of March, and April is looking to be warmer than average,” said CityNews chief meteorologist Natasha Ramsahai while offering a caveat.

“Spring in Canada means Mother Nature can always throw a wrench in the plans. From a meteorologist’s perspective I’m saying this is maybe the last of the big heavy snowfalls for the rest of the season.”

Prior to Friday’s storm Toronto had seen just over 45 centimetres of snow from December until the start of March. The city sees 108 cm of snow in a typical winter.