The Greater Toronto Area was walloped by a record-breaking snowstorm on the weekend, with 61 cm falling on downtown and schools closed. Snow removal is expected to take days.
The Globe and Mail
In Toronto’s west end, eager kids carrying toboggans took over the “dog bowl,” a steep pit in Trinity Bellwoods Park usually reserved for four-legged fun seekers.
Nearby, Darryl Spector helped shovel out a Mini Cooper, which had become beached on a snow-covered street. “Once you start driving, don’t stop,” he told the driver as he got the car on its way.
Torontonians spent Monday digging out from a historic snowfall that brought the city to a near-standstill, snarling traffic and transit service, cancelling flights and closing schools.
A massive winter storm on Sunday blanketed the city’s downtown with 56 centimetres of snow, smashing the previous single-day record set in 1944, according to Environment Canada.
The storm is part of a system that also sowed chaos in parts of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada on Monday, with heavy snow, cold temperatures and gusty winds. In areas of the U.S. South, freezing rain left hundreds of thousands without electricity. At least 30 deaths were reported in the U.S.
In Toronto, the storm also broke another record. This month has been the snowiest on record at Pearson International Airport, with 88 cm of snow so far, Environment Canada said. The airport also had its highest daily snowfall on record with 46 cm on Sunday.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said crews were working around the clock to dig out the city, saying plows had completed one full round on local streets and sidewalks as of Monday morning.
“We will continue plowing non-stop and we won’t stop until the job is done,” she said.
Despite the record-breaking dump of snow, Ms. Chow said she did not foresee asking the military for help, as her predecessor Mel Lastman did in 1999 when the city was paralyzed by a series of heavy snowfalls.
“I don’t think we need to bring in the army,” she told reporters.
Officials asked residents to be patient, saying it would take crews several days to clear away mountains of snow.
“This was a major event,” city manager Paul Johnson said. “You can’t get a storm of this magnitude and have it disappear in a 24-hour cycle.”
Mr. Johnson said he expected that plowing would be largely complete by early Tuesday and crews would start removing snow from streets on Wednesday.
Ms. Chow has been touting the city’s improved snow response plan after back-to-back storms last winter left many streets and sidewalks unplowed for days, drawing sharp criticism. Officials say they now have more crews, equipment and capacity for storing snow.
However, Ms. Chow acknowledged the city’s private contract for snow plowing, signed in 2021, does not include snow removal, calling that “quite unfortunate.”
Despite improvements this year, commuters faced major headaches getting to work on Monday.
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Thomas sleds down the hill at Riverdale Park in east Toronto.Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail
The Toronto Transit Commission reported major problems on multiple transit routes Monday morning, with subway service shut down between multiple stations and long waits for shuttle buses. Some bus stops were out of service.
Drivers also faced delays because of the snow. The Ontario Provincial Police said officers responded to approximately 200 collisions and another 150 calls for vehicles stuck in ditches in the greater Toronto and Hamilton areas over a 24-hour period. In one fatal incident, a driver lost control of their vehicle on a ramp in Kitchener and launched over the snow embankment to a highway below.
The storm left many travellers stranded as hundreds of flights were cancelled at Toronto’s Pearson International and Billy Bishop airports.
The deep snow drifts and cold temperatures made working outside a treacherous slog.
As he took a break from delivering food near King Street East, Sarabjit Singh, a DoorDash driver, said he fell on Sunday when his e-bike went down but he was not injured.
Many pedestrians around Mr. Singh were struggling with the slushy sidewalks, trying to stay upright and stick to narrow paths cut through piles of snow. It was no better on the road. “It’s too slippery,” Mr. Singh said. As he spoke, plows were clearing the street.
Many Torontonians embraced the snow and a slower start to the work week. Some chatted with neighbours, and helped shovel sidewalks and dig out cars. Others cross-country skied on the street and one man snowboarded on a tiny hill in tiny Berczy Park, near the St. Lawrence Market.
“This weather gives everyone a common thing to connect over,” said Steen Starr, who was being tugged by Chacha, her nine-year-old chihuahua-dachshund mix.
Ms. Starr said she loves this kind of weather. “I feel invigorated by it,” she said. “But if you’re not prepared, it hurts.”
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Andrew Adams walked his two dogs at midday along the shores of Lake Ontario, marvelling at the snow and ice formations as a swan and ducks bobbed on the water. He estimated his lawn was buried under about 80 cm of snow. He had shovelled his front yard twice already and was mentally preparing to dig out his truck before it ices over.
Still, he enjoyed the spectacle. The Beaches resident ventured down on Sunday night, in the height of the blizzard, to listen to the waves and watch the ice flow. “It was absolutely beautiful,” he said.
For Toronto children, Monday was a day off from school, which meant sledding, snow forts and hot chocolate.
Cristina Burgess, a small business owner, enjoyed taking her kids tobogganing at Ramsden Park in Rosedale. “Snow days are such a rare pause in our lives when we actually get to engage in sheer fun,” she said.
Erica Merman also brought her two children − and their two dogs − to Ramsden Park, where they went sledding and built snow forts. “My kids are going to be so tired tonight. In the best way possible.”
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At Trinity Bellwoods Park, kids with toboggans in hand trudged down the thin, winding walkways carved into the snow as they converged at the “dog bowl.”
“I would say none of these kids have seen this much snow in downtown Toronto,” says Rob Pettigrew, 49, who has just returned from rocketing down the slope himself. “It’s great,” he says. “It makes you feel alive.”
Monday worked out as something of a “social day” for the parents, said Lindsay Sapinsky, 43. “We all got to get together and have a coffee and a chit-chat.”
Meanwhile, some of the kids worked on nailing a jump near the bottom of the pit. “If you go fast enough, you’re going to catch a bit of air,” she said.
On Dundas Street West, just north of the park, the Sonndr Café served hot chocolate to tobogganers.
Rakgwedi Manet, one of the café’s owners, commuted from Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue around 7 a.m. to open up the shop. The subways weren’t running, so he took the bus instead. When he arrived, Mr. Manet, 34, had to dig his café out from under the snow.
“I was at it for almost an hour,” he said. “Don’t have to go to the gym.”
Toronto mayor and city manager say the cleanup after a record-breaking winter storm that left mountains of snow across Toronto and the surrounding areas is expected to take several days as a snow day was declared for schools across the region and commuters faced severe transit delays.
The Canadian Press
Some kids were put to work. Four-year-old John O’Dwyer lugged around a red shovel as he helped his dad, Ed, dig out their van.
Ed O’Dwyer worked from home for the day while also looking after his three children. “I’m having major COVID flashbacks,” he said, remembering having to balance working from home while caring for young children.
On Queen Street East, local ice-cream shop Ed’s Real Scoop was open for business, and supervisor Michelle Lehane expected kids to come in for hot chocolate and a scoop after sledding.
“Even in cold weather, people are still hungry for ice cream,” she said, as her first customers came in, ordering mango ice cream.
For residents hoping warmer weather will help melt the snow, the forecast is not promising, with colder-than-normal temperatures, said Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist at Environment Canada.
“Mother Nature is not going to help get their car out of the snowbank,” he said. “Those snowbanks look like they’re going to be around for the foreseeable future.”
How did this weekend’s winter storm affect you?
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With reports from The Canadian Press and the Associated Press
