Snowstorm Cripples Toronto's DOn Valley Parkway Jan 28 2019

Crippling Snowstorm Creates Highway Chaos

Toronto, Ontario - Jan 28 2019

An Alberta Clipper, combined with lake effect enhancement created chaos in Toronto, including a full shutdown of the Don Valley Parkway, the main north-south artery out of downtown. At first, I was teamed up with The Weather Network to help report on the storm, but on my way home afterwards, I found myself caught up in the middle of the highway chaos. It was like a post-apocalyptic scene. Snowplows couldn't clear the highway, people had run out of gas in the gridlock, cars were abandoned, and people were walking on the highway. I was also experiencing car battery trouble in the middle of it all, so I was struggling to keep my car from stalling. It was like a scene from a move.

In total, between 33 to 38 cm of snow came down in the metropolitan area.

Having met up with the rest of the team from The Weather Network, it was time to head out into the storm. Our cameraman, Steve, getting some shots of the traffic in the snow. At this point we didn't know how bad the storm was going to get. High winds and crashing waves along the shoreline at Jack Darling Memorial Park in Mississauga. Spray from the crashing waves freezes almost immediately onto anything it hits, including this park bench, and even me! I had ice frozen to my parka from the splashes. It looks like there was an ice storm, but the ice buildup was from the crashing waves. Along Lakeshore Blvd, the icy conditions were made worse by the metal streetcar tracks. This school bus rear-ended the streetcar, presumably because of the slippery metal tracks. As night fell, we relocated to downtown Toronto at Yonge & Dundas Square. My drive home was Hell. What normally takes less than an hour took about four hours. I was trapped in the middle of the chaos on the Don Valley Parkway.


Having met up with the rest of the team from The Weather Network, it was time to head out into the storm.	Our cameraman, Steve, getting some shots of the traffic in the snow. At this point we didn't know how bad the storm was going to get.


High winds and crashing waves along the shoreline at Jack Darling Memorial Park in Mississauga.	Spray from the crashing waves freezes almost immediately onto anything it hits, including this park bench, and even me! I had ice frozen to my parka from the splashes.


It looks like there was an ice storm, but the ice buildup was from the crashing waves.	Along Lakeshore Blvd, the icy conditions were made worse by the metal streetcar tracks. This school bus rear-ended the streetcar, presumably because of the slippery metal tracks.


As night fell, we relocated to downtown Toronto at Yonge & Dundas Square.	My drive home was Hell. What normally takes less than an hour took about four hours. I was trapped in the middle of the chaos on the Don Valley Parkway.