City declares extreme cold weather alert
Posted January 13, 2012 8:06 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The city issued an extreme cold weather alert Friday to make it easier for the homeless to find shelter from the frigid temperatures.
More than 170 shelter spaces will be added, the agencies will relax restrictions, and drop-in centres will hand out TTC tokens so people can get to the shelters.
Also, outreach workers will warn people living on the street of the dangers of the cold weather and take them to warmth.
It’s the second time the city has declared an extreme cold weather alert this year. The first one started Jan. 2 and lasted two days.
Earlier Friday morning, Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for southern Ontario, warning of blowing snow and poor visibility on the roads.
“Further inland, snowfall amounts will be limited to one to three centimetres for most areas,” the agency said. “However with the strong and gusty winds and temperatures several degrees below freezing, motorists should be prepared for difficult winter driving conditions.”
The OPP said by about 10 a.m. Friday, officers had responded to more than 200 crashes in the GTA, most involving cars into guardrails and ditches.
But CityNews weather specialist Frank Ferragine said though Toronto would see some snow mixed in with rain, most of the buildup would be in areas outside the city.
“Toronto gets a break from it all,” he said. “Just some light flurries today — maybe a centimetre to three. But we will have some icy conditions out there on some of the streets and sidewalks.”
He says the real story, though, is the cold.
By 7 a.m., the temperature at Pearson International Airport had dropped to -4 C, which felt more like -12 C with the windchill.
The lake-effect snow will dwindle Saturday, but it will be colder. The day’s low is -13 C and on Sunday it will drop to -7 C.
Durham police are warning residents not to walk on the region’s lakes and streams, which may appear to be frozen over. They say large bodies of water have different freeze-thaw cycles and can be unpredictable.
Click here for the seven-day forecast.
