Freezing rain, ice pellets and heavy rainfall are in the forecast for the Greater Toronto Area and other parts of southwestern Ontario Wednesday, Environment Canada says, as a second spring storm hits the region in less than a week and threatens to cause more power outages.
Environment Canada has issued both freezing rain warnings and rainfall warnings for much of the GTA, saying a brief period of freezing rain is expected in the afternoon, followed by heavy rain.
“Highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy, slippery and hazardous,” the warning reads.
The weather agency says that once temperatures rise, the downpour may cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.
Between 30 to 50 millimetres of rain may fall by early Thursday morning.
“With thunderstorms expected, rainfall amounts may exceed 50 mm over some areas, particularly over southwestern Ontario,” Environment Canada said.
The federal weather agency did not specify how much freezing rain is expected to fall, but said “minor” ice build up is possible on some surfaces, which could make roads and sidewalks icy, slippery and hazardous.
Some flights were delayed or cancelled at Toronto’s Pearson airport, with officials asking travellers to check the status of their flight with their airlines.
Other parts of southwestern Ontario are under both rainfall and freezing rain warnings — though Environment Canada said the freezing rain “will not be nearly as significant as the ice storm from this past weekend.”
The following areas are expected to see two to four millimetres of freezing rain continuing into the evening: Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, Pickering, Oshawa, southern Durham Region, Caledon, Halton Hills, and Milton.
Between four to eight millimetres of freezing rain is also possible in Newmarket, Georgina, northern York Region, Orillia, Lagoon City, Washago, Uxbridge, Beaverton, northern Durham region, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Barrie, Collingwood and Hillsdale.
Thousands of Ontarians still without power after ice storm
“As temperatures rise above the freezing mark, freezing rain will transition to rain this afternoon. For locations over higher terrain, freezing rain may linger into early this evening,” Environment Canada said.
Areas that are under freezing rain warnings could also see easterly winds between 50 to 60 kilometres an hour, which may worsen any tree damage, the federal weather agency said.
People are advised to take care when walking and driving as surfaces may become icy and slippery.
Power utility Hydro One says crews have been working around the clock since the last storm blew through, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes across southern and eastern Ontario.
With almost 214,000 customers still in the dark, there is concern that the latest storm’s accompanying winds could trigger even more power outages.
“This is the worst storm we’ve experienced since the ice storm in 1998 and the damage is severe and widespread,” spokesperson Tiziana Baccega Rosa said in a statement.
She said Wednesday’s storm could slow restoration efforts and cause additional outages.
More than 200,000 Ontario homes and businesses were in the dark as the latest storm rolled in, threatening to slow recovery efforts, expand power outages and further damage weakened trees.
Britany Burnside, who was without grid power from early Saturday until Tuesday morning, was on her way to Costco Wednesday to stock up on essentials in anticipation of the storm.
“We’re going to go stock up on water and soup, because that was one of the things we were lacking after a couple of days,” said Burnside, who lives in a small community near Georgian Bay.
A short supply of fuel and food in some hard-hit communities around Ontario’s cottage country prompted police to tell travellers to avoid the area. Meanwhile flood warnings were issued by several local conservation authorities as heavy rains were expected to roll off the already saturated ground and into swelling rivers.
Burnside said trees felled by the weekend ice storm still lined the roads.
“It honestly looks like a tornado went through everywhere,” she said.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said the province has experienced “nothing like” the weekend ice storm, speaking at Queen’s Park on Wednesday.
He said 28,000 crew members are working to restore power — including crews who were pulled from Saskatchewan, Quebec and New Brunswick.
“We have everyone focused on making sure we get up and going again,” he said.
Mayor Don McIsaac of Orillia, which remained under a local state of emergency, said he was relieved the worst of the ice storm was behind them but told residents to stay alert.
“The city is actively preparing for this and will continue to adapt as the situation evolves,” he said in a statement.
Storm chaser and meteorologist Mark Robinson warned last week that freezing rain can be difficult to predict.
“You need such exact meteorological conditions for that freezing rain to happen,” he said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Friday. “If it’s not perfect, you’ll get a switchover to snow or pure rain.”
Areas that are further north and east are more likely to see freezing rain on Wednesday, with the risk being lower in areas closer to Lake Ontario, said Brain Owsiak, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.
He said rain over the weekend saturated much of the soil in the region.
“That does lead to high water levels in low-lying areas…. near rivers and creeks, that could be an issue,” Owsiak said.
Pooling and ponding on roads and highways is also possible, he said.
