A snowstorm battered southern Ontario and parts of Quebec Monday, with between 15 and 60 centimetres of snow falling across the provinces.
With high winds and poor visibility, Environment Canada issued blizzard warnings across much of southern Ontario Monday morning. Conditions began improving Monday afternoon, although most of the region remained under until the evening.
Up to 60 centimetres of snow was expected to fall in several cities, particularly those on or near Lake Ontario, like Hamilton, Burlington, Mississauga, Toronto, Cobourg and Belleville. Ottawa and its surroundings were expected to receive up to 50 centimetres.
Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips said on 麻豆影视 Channel Monday that the storm could be 鈥渙ne of the snowiest days in recent history,鈥� after parts of the country were in a 鈥渟now drought鈥� this winter.
鈥淭his storm is a hard hitter but it really is also a quick hitter,鈥� Phillips said. 鈥淚t arrived on time like it was following a script鈥ery few areas will escape this鈥ith really a lot of snow in certain areas, looking at these numbers for Toronto, this isn鈥檛 even a two or three-day event, this is less than a day.鈥�
Phillips said the storm was going to dump a lot of snow with very strong winds, which is what makes it an 鈥渋mpactful event.鈥�
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to have to be pushing it, plowing it and shovelling it two or three times before it settles down,鈥� he said of the amount of snow expected in some regions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a very potent storm, there are a lot of dangers with it,鈥� Phillips said, citing factors such as very poor visibility in Toronto.
The storm prompted the temporary closure of the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, two main thoroughfares for the city. There were also numerous public transit delays and cancellations in the city.
Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said the roads were treacherous and that many people were stuck on Highway 401 due to the snow and poor visibility.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just been an absolute mess,鈥� Schmidt said on 麻豆影视 Channel Monday. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a day of frustration for pretty much everyone on the roads.鈥�
Schmidt declared Monday as the day people 鈥渟hould stay home.鈥�
Despite the warning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford headed out into the storm and was dig out their cars.
On Monday, several southern Ontario school boards cancelled what was supposed to be the first day of in-class learning since December. Canada Post also halted services and vaccination clinics in Toronto, Durham, Peel, York and Ottawa were closed until Tuesday.
Both Toronto and Ottawa reported it could take days to clear all the snow from the cities鈥� roads, where multiple crashes were reported. In Ottawa, a , who had his parents call 911 when he saw an elderly man almost buried in the snow.
Much like its neighbour, southern Quebec was blanketed with snow and Environment Canada warnings on Monday as the massive winter storm made its way across eastern Canada.
were issued for much of southern Quebec, with anywhere from five to 25 centimetres of snow anticipated. Across from Ottawa, Gatineau was expected to receive the most in the province, with 30 to 50 centimetres in the forecast.
South of Montreal, highways were shut down and at least a dozen people were taken to hospital following three pileups involving nearly 75 vehicles. The Greater Montreal Area was expecting as much as 25 centimetres of snow Monday.
In addition to snow, storm surge warnings were in effect for several coastal regions along the St. Lawrence River and Gaspe Peninsula on Monday. Further north in Quebec, the regions of Waskaganish, Parent-Gouin Reservoir, Matagami, Chibougamau and Abitibi were all under extreme cold warnings, with wind chill estimated to make it feel like -38 to -42 C from Monday night to Tuesday morning.鈥�
