Toronto's public school board warns classes could go virtual Monday due to snowstorm

Toronto's public school board says all elementary and secondary classes may be conducted virtually Monday as the city braces for what Environment Canada calls a "significant snowfall" overnight.

The weather agency has issued a snowfall warning predicting that between 15 and 20 centimetres of snow will fall between Sunday night and Monday night, while City of Toronto forecasters say it could be as much as 30 centimetres.

In a message to parents Sunday night, the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) said a decision will be made about whether to cancel school buses and close schools by 6 a.m. Monday morning. If that happens, all kindergarten to Grade 12 classes will move online.

"While we had shared last month that if buses were cancelled, it would be a typical "snow day" (no live learning), as the entire system has already been learning remotely for almost two weeks and given the disruptions to students' learning, we feel it would be best to extend remote learning for one additional day in Kindergarten to Grade 12," the statement said.

"This is especially important as we anticipate an increased number of students and staff absences as a result of COVID-19 and related isolations over the upcoming weeks."

Ontario schools are otherwise expected to return to in-person learning Monday after two weeks of virtual learning following the holiday break.

City of Toronto forecasters expect the volume of snow to be "heavy, disruptive."

Winds gusting up to 50 km/h are only expected to worsen visibility. 

The snow may fall as fast as two to three centimetres per hour on Monday morning, making for a potentially treacherous commute.

Environment Canada says a low pressure system tracking south of the Great Lakes will generate snowfall amounts of 25 to 40 centimetres in some areas of southern Ontario by Monday night.

The agency's winter storm watch says the heaviest amounts are forecast for much of eastern Ontario and the Niagara Peninsula, as well as Simcoe County north of Toronto. The Greater Toronto Area and Hamilton could see accumulations of 15 to 20 centimetres by Monday night. 

"There may be a significant impact on rush-hour traffic in urban areas," the agency said, advising people that "rapidly accumulating snow will make traffic difficult."

Vincent Sferrazza, maintenance and operations director with Toronto's transportation services, said road salting machines started applying liquid brine to roads on Sunday afternoon in anticipation of the storm. The salt and water solution is meant to prevent roads from freezing over and to stop snow from sticking to the ground, making it easier for snowplows to clear it away.

He said the city's fleet of more than 1,000 machines — from salt spreading trucks to road, sidewalk and bike lane plows — as well as the crews that operate them, stand ready to be deployed as soon as the snow hits the ground.