Snowfall to impact Toronto, GTA evening commute with winter weather travel advisory in effect

Toronto and other communities across southern Ontario will be impacted by snowfall as Environment Canada warns of a messy evening commute with a winter weather travel advisory in effect.

Snow began to fall on Wednesday morning due to a low-pressure system, and it is expected to taper off by evening. Hazardous winter driving conditions are expected, and rush-hour traffic in urban areas may be significantly impacted.

“Slow down driving in slippery conditions. Watch for taillights ahead and maintain a safe following distance. If visibility is reduced while driving, turn on your lights and maintain a safe following distance,” writes Environment Canada.

The advisory covers Toronto, York Region, Peel Region, Hamilton, Caledon and the northern Niagara Region.

About 5 cm of snow is expected in the GTA, with more in the north and east areas of the city.

Toronto winter operations are ready

The City of Toronto said it monitors the weather forecast and road conditions 24 hours a day and will deploy crews and equipment as required.

CityNews meteorologist Natasha Ramsahai says flurries would be falling all day, and the wind will pick up progressively on Wednesday.

“By noon, gust around 60-70 kilometres an hour. By 4 p.m., we will see the next round of snow move in, especially between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. [Wednesday], when this will be at its heaviest,” said Ramsahai.

Plowing begins if the snow reaches 2.5 cm on Toronto expressways, 5 cm on major roads, transit routes and streets with hills and 8 cm on residential streets.

Much of northern Ontario is under the advisory, and they continue to dig out from weekend storms that saw a major stretch of Highway 11 shut down, leaving hundreds of motorists stranded.