A major winter storm disrupted travel plans, closed schools and shuttered city services across Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces Thursday, as communities dug out from upwards of 20 centimetres of snow, with blustery winds and freezing rain forecast to move east.
Toronto's Pearson International Airport, where several flights were delayed or cancelled, had seen about 26 cm of snowfall by the morning, said Steven Flisfeder, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.
"It has definitely been the biggest snowfall of the year, so far, for many parts of the (Greater Toronto Area)," Flisfeder said.
The storm wreaked havoc on the morning commute in Canada's most populous city, putting transit stops out of service and prompting widespread delays. Toronto's transit agency said more than 50 stops were out of service due to weather Thursday morning. GO Transit was running a modified schedule, with several cancellations affecting its bus and train network.
In Hamilton, the city said all offices and facilities were closed on Thursday. Recreation centres, community halls and seniors centres were also closed until 4 p.m., at which point programs were expected to resume. Schools across the Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton were closed, as were others in Ontario. In Ottawa, schools were open, but buses were cancelled, the local public and Catholic school boards said.
As the storm started to let up in Toronto on Thursday morning, it advanced further into Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. In Quebec, where Environment Canada says between 25 and 40 cm of snow could fall before the end of the day, many school boards had announced closures even before the storm began.
Snow began falling overnight in Montreal, and was expected to continue until midday and gradually ease. Flights were cancelled and delayed at the airports in Montreal and Quebec City on Thursday, and the province's transport agency warned of dangerous road conditions, calling on motorists to avoid non-essential travel.
But some were taking the wallop in stride. Barbara and Jeffrey Wunderlich of Chesterton, Ind. 鈥� no strangers to snow in their hometown about an hour's drive southeast of Chicago 鈥� drove to Montreal to catch the 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament, but would be leaving the car parked on Thursday. "We're just gonna slide around on our feet," Barbara said.
"We're used to snow and wind, but this is beautiful and it's so clean," she added. "All the people are kind and have smiles, that means the world to us."
Maggie Love and Kendon Zettle of London, Ont., were also in town for the hockey tournament, and will be sneaking in a bit of skiing in the Eastern Townships. "This is awesome," said Love in snow-swept Old Montreal. "We also ski, so this is great for that."
Over in Atlantic Canada, all schools were closed Thursday in New Brunswick, where heavy snow was expected in central and northern parts of the province. In southern New Brunswick, the forecast was calling for less snow topped by an ugly mix of ice pellets and freezing rain.
Schools across Prince Edward Island were closed as the forecast called for 15 to 25 cm of snow on the west side of the province, with ice pellets and freezing rain expected to coat eastern and central areas by Thursday evening.
In Nova Scotia, schools were either closed or scheduled early dismissals as the storm advanced, with the forecast calling for up to four hours of freezing rain on the western side of the province, including Halifax.
Environment Canada warned of poor driving conditions and possible power outages later in the day.
As the east side of mainland Nova Scotia was bracing for blustery winds and about 10 cm of snow, Cape Breton was expected to get between 15 and 30 cm, with more expected Friday.
The storm was not expected to reach Newfoundland until Thursday night, churning out gusts reaching up to 100 kilometres per hour along the island's south coast 鈥� and up to 150 km/h along the notorious section of the west coast known as Wreckhouse.
Between 10 and 20 cm of snow was in the forecast for southern, central and northern parts of Newfoundland for Thursday night and into Friday. Eastern areas of the province can expect less snow but poor visibility with winds gusting between 70 and 80 km/h.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2025.
Jordan Omstead, Michael MacDonald and Joe Bongiorno, The Canadian Press
