Heavy snow, hazardous road conditions in store as winter storm expected Friday

CBC.ca
March 3, 2023

Toronto is under a winter storm warning as southern Ontario braces for another spell of messy weather.

The storm is forecast to hit the city Friday night and continue into Saturday morning, with expected snowfall amounts of 15 to 25 centimetres, Environment Canada says.

The city could see as much as four centimetres of snow per hour, creating "hazardous travel conditions."

"Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions. Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow," the federal weather agency said.

The City of Toronto will open three warming centres on Friday a 7 p.m., namely Scarborough Civic Centre, Mitchell Field Community Centre and Cecil Community Centre. The city's fourth warming centre, at Metro Hall, is currently open and daytime drop-in programs are available, the city says.

The city adds the weather could "significantly impact" the Friday evening commute, urging people to consider public transit.

City's clean-up plan
Starting at 8 p.m. Thursday, the city says it will apply liquid salt brine to expressways, bridges, steep hills and priority intersections. Salting will begin once snow begins to accumulate.

The plows will start operating if the snow reaches:

2.5 centimetres on expressways.
Five centimetres on major roads, transit routes and streets with hills.
Eight centimetres on residential streets.

Sidewalk and separated bike lane clearing will begin when the snow reaches two centimetres.

The city says it expects to continue clearing the snow into next week, saying the clean-up will likely take multiple passes.

System to blow into Ontario Friday afternoon
Winter storm watches are in effect for most of southern Ontario.

The storm system is set to blow across the province starting Friday afternoon, with snow expected to quickly become heavy and combine with strong winds.

It's the latest in a recent rash of winter storms to torment southern Ontario after last week's ice storm knocked out power to thousands of people and was followed up by a messy mix of snow and ice pellets earlier this week.

Meteorologists had predicted the to-date mild winter season could end with a blast of storms, with cooler temperatures persisting into early April.