Most incidents involve individual vehicles in ditches. The majority of collisions are along high-speed roadways including the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 401.
City crews are working to clear streets, but police are warning drivers that conditions remain extremely slippery.
Environment Canada reports that 14 to 18 centimeters of snow fell across the city, and a sudden dip in the temperature left roads covered in black ice.
Police are urging commuters to leave early, and expect delays. They’re also asking drivers avoid distractions like cellphones.
In addition to snowy roads, the GTA is under an extreme cold weather alert. In the city, the temperature is expected to rise to -7 C in the afternoon, with wind gusts of up to 50 km/h. The low is forecasted as -17 C.
An Environment Canada wind chill warning was in effect for most of southern Ontario, but was dropped shortly after 9 a.m. The weather agency predicted “very cold” winds would draw in “unseasonably cold air” on Wednesday morning. The wind chill dropped temperatures to -27 C.
However, on Friday, the weather agency predicts a dramatic shift: The temperature is expected to rise to 5 C in the afternoon.
Normal temperatures for mid-March range from highs of 4 C to lows of -4 C.
