'It could be the last real blast of winter:' Rain may change into snow tonight as temperatures drop in Toronto
A spring storm brought heavy rain, strong winds and wet snow to the Greater Toronto Area Wednesday evening, causing power outages.
As of 11 p.m., about 8,000 Hydro One customers in Bowmanville were left in the dark due to a power outage. On its website, the company said crews were responding to outages caused by high winds.
It was unclear when power would return to the affected customers.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Rain was expected to transition to wet snow Wednesday night, especially for areas away from Lake Ontario, as temperatures dropped to 2 C from a high of 6 C earlier in the day. However, Environment Canada said snowfall amounts won’t be significant.
Toronto could expect about two centimetres of snow locally.
While the rain has been manageable, the temperature drop and snowfall could lead to issues with traffic, University of Waterloo Meteorologist Frank Seglenieks told CP24 on Wednesday afternoon.
“Most of the problems associated with it are going to be from the wet heavy snow falling later on today and into tomorrow,” he said. “That's just going to cause a lot of chaos as far as traffic goes.”
Winds, which gusted up to 80 kilometres an hour earlier in the day, were expected to ease by Wednesday evening. Several Toronto hospitals under the University Health Network faced a system outage Wednesday morning due to the weather and strong winds.
While the winds will die down, Seglenieks noted that much of the weather problems in the region will be instead due to the wet snow and rain over the next 24 hours.
The Toronto Police Service warned residents to stay away from rivers, streams and shorelines, which are at risk of flooding.
There is a 40 per cent chance of flurries and rain showers Thursday morning and temperatures are expected to hit around 3 C.
The precipitation is forecast to continue until the weekend, with the sun finally peeking out on Saturday. Temperatures are expected to hit the double digits at this point.
Seglenieks noted that this may the last blast of wintery weather in the region.
“Certainly winter storms and snow accumulation can still happen in April and even into late April so we're not past that hump yet,” he said.
“But it could be the last real blast of winter that we'll see this year … for the next couple of weeks it looks like it is going to be getting more towards the spring side of the temperatures.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6976926.1721883767!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
LIVE @ 11:15 A.M. MT Extent of Jasper wildfire damage still unknown; Alberta Wildfire hosting update
Officials are waiting to learn Thursday morning the extent of wildfire damage in the Jasper townsite of Jasper National Park, which flames began to eat away at the night before.
WATCH LIVE Jasper wildfire burns buildings, while poor air quality forces some fire crews out
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on social media that Ottawa has approved Alberta's request for federal assistance after a fast-moving wildfire hit Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday.
Jennifer Aniston criticizes JD Vance for 'childless cat ladies' remarks: 'I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children'
Jennifer Aniston is criticizing JD Vance for comments he made in his past about women without children.
Canadian women's soccer team staffer given suspended prison sentence over drone incident, prosecutor says
A Canada women's soccer team staffer has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence after flying a drone to film the closed-door training session of the New Zealand team on Monday, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
WATCH LIVE 'Sick to my stomach': People grieve Jasper National Park by sharing favourite photos
As an out-of-control wildfire roared through Alberta’s famed Jasper National Park and its townsite late Wednesday, many are fearing the worst as officials warned of 'significant loss' within the area.
Prince William made $42 million from his newly inherited estate last year, reports show
Newly released financial reports show that William, the Prince of Wales, drew a salary of $42.1 million last fiscal year, his first since inheriting the vast and lucrative Duchy of Cornwall.
Sale of envoy's NYC condo 'expected to exceed' $9M: government
The current official residence for Canada's representative in New York City is 'being readied for sale,' according to a spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada.
'It's certainly a central piece:' Prince Harry blames tabloids for family breakdown
Prince Harry, speaking in clips published on Wednesday from a new documentary, said his legal battles with Britain's tabloid press have contributed to the breakdown of his relationship with the Royal Family.
'I'm so broke': Two Toronto women speak out after losing $76,000 in romance scam
Two women from the Toronto area are speaking out after losing thousands of dollars to a romance scam, including a single mother who lost $62,000.