Heavy snow fell overnight as thunder and lightning struck Toronto in a major winter snowstorm that pummeled much of southern Ontario<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior climatologist for Environment Canada Dave Phillips told CP24 earlier Friday that Torontonians could expect about five to eight centimetres of snow an hour in peak hours and blowing winds of up to 70 km\/h. In total, Toronto should receive about 16 hours of snowfall<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Clearing operations are expected to be required into next week, the city said Friday evening<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s a recap of some key developments during the storm<\/p>\n\n\n\n
11 p.m.<\/strong>\u00a0–\u00a0 CP24 meteorologist Chris Potter says between 7 p.m. when the storm arrived in Toronto, and 10 p.m., the downtown core received 11 cm of snow. At Toronto Pearson, 10 cm of snow has fallen so far<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it’s not over yet. Potter says snow will continue to fall until 6 a.m. on Saturday. He adds it will be heavy at times, especially during the first half of the overnight<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Obviously, this will be the most significant snowfall that we’ve had all winter and probably in the past couple of winters,” Potter said<\/p>\n\n\n\n By mid-morning Saturday, any residual light snow or flurries will be clearing rapidly, and winds will gradually become much lighter, he says<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later in the day, Toronto will see a lot of sunshine. The high for Saturday is 4 C<\/p>\n\n\n\n 10:44 p.m.\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Toronto Hydro says it is experiencing scattered outages during the winter storm, including in Etobicoke, where approximately 530 customers are without power<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCrews are responding to multiple safety emergencies, such as downed power lines,\u201d Toronto Hydro said<\/p>\n\n\n\n 9:30 p.m<\/strong>. – Toronto police are warning drivers that some traffic indicators, including lights and stop signs have been coated in snow<\/p>\n\n\n\n