Toronto residents woke up Monday, Nov. 11, to an unseasonable winter landscape following a major snowstorm that broke two long-standing weather records in early November.
The city received 9.8 centimeters of snow on Sunday, November 9, and more snow overnight.
According to Environment Canada, this was the most intense November 9 in 54 years, surpassing the record of 1.5 centimeters in 1971.
Additionally, the total amount of snow on the two days of the storm is the most significant amount of snow Toronto had experienced early in the season since October 1981.
“It’s very rare to have this much snow falling this early in the Toronto area,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson.
He explained that it is not unusual for light snow to occur in early November, but the amount of snow on this particular date was the first experienced at Pearson International Airport, the city’s weather station.
The disruptive storm was experienced across the area, with Hamilton receiving 17 cm and Ottawa receiving 12 cm.
Ontario Provincial Police have reportedly responded to more than 200 accidents across the Greater Toronto Area due to slippery conditions.
The City of Toronto responded by sending brining and salting activities on priority routes.
Although early in the week or early season temperatures will not be able to rise above the seasonal average of 8°C, the first signs of winter will actually ease by midweek and temperatures will return to a more moderate range on Wednesday, November 12.
