Blowing snow to hamper afternoon commute

Drivers heading west during Thursday afternoon's commute should be prepared for white-out conditions, as a gusting winds and light snow will combine to reduce visibility in parts of the GTA. "A lot of snow is just kind of sitting there," said Environment Canada meteorologist Geoff Coulson, after explaining that Wednesday's frozen rain-snow slush mixture has given us a hard crust that fresh snow is not sticking to. "Any loose snow that has fallen recently could very be whipped up by the wind and produce those local poor visibilities." Coulson noted that blowing snow will be a factor for commuters in all regions of the GTA, Peel and southern parts of Halton region like Burlington and Oakville, are expected to get the worst of it. Flurries and strong winds, with gusts around 60 km/h, are expected to last until Friday. There is an expected drop of temperature throughout the day, with the coldest spots of the GTA feeling like 20C with the wind chill. Though Toronto is already experiencing an "abnormal temperature trend," said Coulson, those cold temperatures are only going to get colder. A cold air mass is heading to Toronto from northwestern Ontario, where temperatures today are as cold as 25 C. The cold air is expected to hit the GTA tomorrow, though it will have warmed up significantly, with a day time high expected of 4 C.


I think do not think that people should be worrying about the snow as much as they currently are. Yes, the snow causes for the roads to become more slippery, but with the availability of snow tires, drivers should not be as paranoid about the icy roads. In my opinion, all car companies should give snow tires with each car, or at least a much lower price. There would be a huge decrease in accidents, and there would be more purchases for these tires if they still cost money. I know that when I start driving, I will only be driving in the winter, if my car has winter tires.