Winter weather travel advisory lifts for Toronto as forecasted snowstorm may miss GTA

Environment Canada has lifted a winter weather travel advisory for Toronto and parts of the GTA, and it appears likely that a forecasted snowstorm could be avoided altogether.

Canada’s weather agency initially issued a weather advisory for Toronto ahead of Friday afternoon, forecasting 5 to 10 cm of snow by the evening hours.

That weather alert was lifted just before 10 a.m., and while flurries and light snow are still in the forecast, the winter storm isn’t expected to be as impactful due to temperatures hovering just above freezing. This will likely lead to a rain and snow mix in Toronto and the GTA by the evening hours.

Some local regions remain under the winter weather travel advisory, including Vaughan, Richmond Hill and Markham.

Toronto’s daytime high will reach 1 C, and temperatures could reach 2 C by the evening before dropping to -6 overnight.

Environment and Climate Change Canada issued snowfall warnings across northern and eastern Ontario, including Ottawa, on Friday morning.

Temperatures slated to drop this weekend

Heavy snow will enter northeastern Ontario through Friday afternoon, impacting travel conditions around Sault Ste. Marie and cottage country.

Thunder Bay could see around 15 cm of snow from this system as it passes through northern Ontario. Some rain and mixed precipitation is possible around London, Ont, and the Niagara region.

A cold front will make its way back to the city and GTA this weekend with a forecasted daytime high of -7 C in Toronto on Saturday, though it will feel more like -15 with the wind. Sunday morning will be even colder, with temperatures in the -16 C range and a wind chill of -21.

The latest weather advisory comes as the city recovers from a potent mid-February storm that caused significant snowfall in Toronto. This prompted Mayor Olivia Chow to call for a review of the city’s winter operations.

Since last Wednesday, the City of Toronto says crews have removed nearly 105,000 tonnes of snow from streets, sidewalks and bike lanes.

The City of Toronto said it could take three weeks to finish trucking away the piles of snow that have restricted traffic and blocked sidewalks after the heavy snowfalls this month.

You can sign up for the CityNews Weather Guarantee here and see details on the extended forecast.