Winter weather travel advisory issued for Toronto; up to 8 centimetres of snow expected

Big dig out underway following back-to-back winter storms in province.

Officials say it is going to take weeks to remove snow from Toronto streets after two major back-to-back snowstorms in the city this past week.

Toronto saw heavy snowfall on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday, leaving the city to clean up mountains of snow that have piled up along roadways, bike lanes, and sidewalks.

This weekend, the snow snarled subway service and led to more than 100 crashes on GTA highways.

The latest:

• Environment Canada has issued a winter weather travel advisory for Toronto overnight and into Tuesday with four to eight centimetres of snow expected.
• There is still no subway service between Bloor-Yonge and Eglinton stations on Line 1 due to weather conditions.
• Snow removal operations in Toronto begin today but could take up to three weeks to complete.

4:45 p.m.

A winter weather travel advisory has been issued for the City of Toronto.

Environment Canada says four to eight centimetres of snow is expected overnight and into Tuesday.

The weather service is warning of reduced visibility at times and says the lake effect flurries will be followed by a band of heavier snow Tuesday morning, which will impact the morning commute.

There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas, according to Environment Canada.

Drivers are advised to prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating conditions.

2:20 p.m.

The Halton Regional Police Service (HRPS) is advising of several rural road closures in Milton and Halton Hills due to snow buildup.

In a social media post, HRPS say Lower Base Line, Tremaine Rd., 2 Side Rd., and 5 Side Rd. are all impassable due to several stranded vehicles.

Police and tow trucks are on scene and assisting.

1:30 p.m.

Environment Canada’s David Phillips says Toronto saw more snow over the past week than it did all last winter.

11:05 a.m.

The 56 bus stops impacted by this weekend’s poor weather conditions are back up and running this morning and all express buses have returned to normal service, the TTC says.

11 a.m.

The city says as of Monday morning, parking enforcement officers have issued 2,393 tickets to vehicles parked on snow routes and 27 vehicles have been towed.

10:30 a.m.

TTC spokesperson Adrian Grundy said storm trains are moving between Yonge-Bloor and Eglinton stations to apply anti-icing solution onto the tracks.

He said ice-build up on the power rail has caused the transit agency to suspend service along that stretch of Line 1.

Grundy said the TTC hopes to restore subway service to that section by Monday afternoon.

“It is a light volume day, being Family Day, we do have less service out there than a normal Monday. We also have less people on board than a normal Monday,” he said.

10 a.m.

City officials say snow removal operations could take up to three weeks after nearly 50 cm of snow blanketed Toronto during two winter storms last week.

“Due to the volume of snow we’ve received in recent days, we expect that snow removal may take up to three weeks,” Barbara Gray, the general manger of Toronto’s Transportation Services department, said at a news conference on Monday morning.

Gray said crews will begin removing snow after plowing operations are complete. Snow removal, which officials described as a “slow process,” involves loading snow into dump truck and transporting it to designated dump sites.

“We prioritize snow removal with a focus on safety access and mobility starting with main street sidewalks and pedestrian signals, transit stops, hospitals and emergency service stations, school bus loading zones and roads with limited space for snow storage where excess snow could cause problems,” Gray said Monday.

Gray added that parking on snow routes continues to be prohibited as crews work “around-the-clock” to clear and remove snow.

“The crews and the teams having been working non-stop since before Wednesday’s snowfall to keep Torontonians moving and to maintain city services as much as possible,” she said.

9:45 a.m.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said conditions are “much better” for driving on Monday.

“In the past 24 hours, we’ve had about 100 crashes across the GTA. We’ve also responded to about 100 more vehicles stuck in snow banks or stuck in the ditch,” he said.

“Stay safe. If you need to be on the roads, be mindful that there is still snow on many of the shoulders, there may be slush on some of the less travelled lanes.”

9 a.m.

Environment Canada says a few centimetres of snow is expected to fall on Monday as residents continue to shovel out from last week’s storms.

8:45 a.m.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said 330 snow removal trucks are out in operation right now. He noted that all arterial roads are plowed and about 75 per cent of residential streets are plowed.

“It has been a big snow dump,” Brown said.

“When you get this level of snow, it is always challenging… We are getting through it and talk about a special way to celebrate Family Day. It is certainly a winter wonderland.”

7 a.m.

Some tourist attractions that closed their doors on Sunday due to poor weather conditions are expected to reopen today, including the Royal Ontario Museum and the Toronto Zoo.

6:30 a.m.

The TTC says there is still no subway service between Bloor-Yonge and Eglinton stations due to poor weather conditions. Shuttle buses are running. A separate signal problem has suspended service between Sheppard West and St. Clair West stations.

6 a.m.

The City of Toronto will be providing an update on snow-clearing operations at a news conference at 10 a.m.