02-13-2008, 10:23 PM
Heavy snowfalls poised to pile up more than the monthly total of 66.6 centimetres set in 1950
JAMES BRADSHAW
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
February 13, 2008 at 6:13 AM EST
If you've been boasting to your neighbours that you've never shovelled so much snow in your life, you may be right.
Toronto was poised to shatter the record snowfall for the month of February after yet another snowstorm yesterday blew the city toward a monthly milestone set more than half a century ago.
By the end of Monday, the city had already been blanketed by 56 centimetres, and, given Environment Canada's snowfall warning of 15 to 20 centimetres for yesterday, the record of 66.6 centimetres set in 1950 seemed certain to fall.
As of 9:30 p.m., Environment Canada had recorded as much as 15 centimetres of snow downtown from the latest storm, but only five centimetres in North York.
The elements are sure to have more in store, with 17 days left before March and another two snow systems set to hit the region by this weekend.To cope with the demand for clear streets, city crews have begun a seldom used snow-removal plan and are working around the clock to try to cope with mounting drifts, particularly on side streets.
"It's a challenging winter for us," said Myles Currie, director of transportation services. "For many years, we haven't had to do this, and this is what we would call our ultimate stage of snow fighting, to actually remove the snow from the road."
Transportation services employs a total of 1,700 staff, some in-house and some contracted, to operate 600 road plows, 300 sidewalk plows, 200 road salters and a fleet of snow blowers and snow-removal trucks. Staff rotation through three eight-hour shifts ensures 24-hour snow removal through the chaotic conditions, but the weather continues to be unusually relentless.
"The man hours are basically continuous since the storm we had a week ago Friday," Mr. Currie said. "We just got the city cleaned up, and then we got the two storms last Wednesday, which we finished clearing up on the weekend, and now we're into snow removal and the storm today."
Yesterday's storm stalled the airways as well, as conditions brought more flight delays and cancellations at Pearson airport. Scott Armstrong, a spokesman for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, said he expected about 100 of the 1,200 scheduled flights to be cancelled, in addition to scattered delays. But he said travellers seem to be getting used to the disruptions.
"It's not the first snowstorm of the season," he said, "so I think everyone knows what to expect."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080213.wsnow13/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080213.wsnow13
JAMES BRADSHAW
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
February 13, 2008 at 6:13 AM EST
If you've been boasting to your neighbours that you've never shovelled so much snow in your life, you may be right.
Toronto was poised to shatter the record snowfall for the month of February after yet another snowstorm yesterday blew the city toward a monthly milestone set more than half a century ago.
By the end of Monday, the city had already been blanketed by 56 centimetres, and, given Environment Canada's snowfall warning of 15 to 20 centimetres for yesterday, the record of 66.6 centimetres set in 1950 seemed certain to fall.
As of 9:30 p.m., Environment Canada had recorded as much as 15 centimetres of snow downtown from the latest storm, but only five centimetres in North York.
The elements are sure to have more in store, with 17 days left before March and another two snow systems set to hit the region by this weekend.To cope with the demand for clear streets, city crews have begun a seldom used snow-removal plan and are working around the clock to try to cope with mounting drifts, particularly on side streets.
"It's a challenging winter for us," said Myles Currie, director of transportation services. "For many years, we haven't had to do this, and this is what we would call our ultimate stage of snow fighting, to actually remove the snow from the road."
Transportation services employs a total of 1,700 staff, some in-house and some contracted, to operate 600 road plows, 300 sidewalk plows, 200 road salters and a fleet of snow blowers and snow-removal trucks. Staff rotation through three eight-hour shifts ensures 24-hour snow removal through the chaotic conditions, but the weather continues to be unusually relentless.
"The man hours are basically continuous since the storm we had a week ago Friday," Mr. Currie said. "We just got the city cleaned up, and then we got the two storms last Wednesday, which we finished clearing up on the weekend, and now we're into snow removal and the storm today."
Yesterday's storm stalled the airways as well, as conditions brought more flight delays and cancellations at Pearson airport. Scott Armstrong, a spokesman for the Greater Toronto Airport Authority, said he expected about 100 of the 1,200 scheduled flights to be cancelled, in addition to scattered delays. But he said travellers seem to be getting used to the disruptions.
"It's not the first snowstorm of the season," he said, "so I think everyone knows what to expect."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080213.wsnow13/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080213.wsnow13