After a spate of freezing rain, temperatures in Toronto and the GTA climbed to a welcome -- but unseasonably high -- 4 C on Monday afternoon.
The abnormal temperature followed a tense morning commute that had motorists navigating slippery roads, slick from flurries and freezing rain the night before. The conditions prompted a number of school boards north of the city to cancel bus service.
Though Environment Canada cancelled a freezing rain warning issued for much of the Greater Toronto Area on Monday, police cautioned drivers about slick road conditions.
Const. Clinton Stibbe of Toronto police’s Traffic Services department took to his Twitter account on Monday morning, urging motorists to give themselves extra time for the morning commute.
In Mississauga, a car veered into a concrete light pole near Mississauga and Derry Roads, leaving the vehicle’s driver with minor injuries. About 30 minutes west of the scene, another driver lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a house on Hartland Drive.
It is unclear, however, if weather was a factor in the collisions.
After an evening of freezing rain, temperatures in Toronto climbed to 3 C overnight and are expected to hit an unseasonably warm high of 7 C by the day’s end. Light rain continued into the morning.
Further north, a number of school bus routes were cancelled, many within Trillium Lakelands District School Board. Several schools from Wasaga Beach to Collingwood were closed for the day.
Wintry weather was believed to have played a part in several collisions around southern Ontario on Sunday evening, including a pile-up involving between 15 and 20 cars in Markham.
At one point, York Regional Police issued a news release urging motorists to stay off the roads after receiving a “large number” of collision reports.
A high influx of incidents prompted Ontario Provincial Police to briefly close Highway 400 southbound at King Road on Sunday evening.
