Toronto area clean-up will take days, as Pearson airport smashes snowfall record

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Storm covers Canada with heavy snow, extreme cold

In a statement issued Monday, TTC CEO Mandeep S. Lali thanked customers for their “patience and understanding” during the storm, especially those who had to ride shuttle buses when subway service on portions of Line 1 and 2 shut down.

“I know that having to wait in those conditions is frustrating, but as shuttle buses need to be brought in from other parts of the City, delays were unavoidable,” Lali wrote. “My commitment to those customers, and everyone who relies on the TTC no matter the conditions, is that as always we will learn from this event.”

Lali went on to call this a “once-in-a-generation storm” that will give the TTC a “unique opportunity” to analyze its performance, identify gaps and develop plans to help “in the event of something similar in future.”

While it looks messy on the ground in many parts of the city after last night’s snow, the bird’s eye view is a little more peaceful.

Anyone who doesn’t have to shovel or go outside Monday can simply admire the nearly 50-centimetre blanket that’s wrapped itself around the city.

While Toronto’s city manager told Metro Morning that Monday will be a big plow day, crews are working to clear roads the old-fashioned way, too.

As the sun broke on Euclid Avenue, six workers took their shovels to a residential intersection.

“Both were carefully navigating the piles of snow and trying to stay upright,” Watters said.

Anyone who uses outdoor parking likely has some digging out to do today.

This is what a residential street in Toronto’s east end looked like early this morning.

If it seems like there’s more snow than usual, that’s because it is.

According to a weather summary from Environment Canada issued this morning, Sunday’s daily total snowfall of 46 cm at Pearson airport is the highest such total on record.

“This brings the January 2026 snowfall total to 88.2 cm which is the snowiest January and snowiest month since records began in 1937,” the weather agency said.

There was even more snow measured at Toronto City Centre with 56 cm — though Environment Canada’s meteorologists made no mention of any record there.

The weather agency also notes that these are preliminary numbers for now.

Toronto’s five warming centres have been open since Jan. 11 and will stay open Monday, the city said on social media.

Surge spaces and additional shelter beds opened during the storm will also remain open.

Enhanced street outreach teams will continue to do wellness checks around the city, encouraging people living outside to come indoors to shelters, where blankets, winter clothes and sleeping bags are being distributed.

In a social media post this morning, Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish said that so far, crews had cleared 5,700 kilometres of roads, 2,450 sidewalks and 3,300 bus stops.

That’s on top of 127 kilometres of multi-use trails, 73 kilometres of bike lanes and 134,000 residential driveway windrows.

Officials have also issued over 700 parking tickets over the last 24 hours, she said.

While Environment Canada still has flurries in the forecast through the afternoon, Toronto is getting a brief reprieve from the clouds and snow. 

The sun is peeking out and there’s plenty of blue sky.

It’s still -15 C without the wind chill as people continue to dig themselves out of their houses. But if you look up and ignore the cold, you can almost pretend it’s summer for a moment.

Johnson, the city manager, says that crews have now made initial passes through local roads and sidewalks, “which is good news for those who are walking [and] good news for those who are trying to get out of their residential neighbourhoods.”

But for now, people are going to see a lot of drifts and piles of snow until crews can get into the removal phase.

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