page_title: Geography of Toronto
section_title: Winter and snowfall
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of Toronto / Climate / Winter and snowfall
caption_attribution_description: English: The ice storm in April 2018 in Toronto left a very picturesque setting; everything was covered with ice.
context_page_description: The geography of Toronto, Ontario, covers an area of 630 km² and is bounded by Lake Ontario to the south; Etobicoke Creek, Eglinton Avenue, and Highway 427 to the west; Steeles Avenue to the north; and the Rouge River and the Scarborough–Pickering Townline to the east. In addition to Etobicoke Creek and the Rouge River, the city is trisected by two minor rivers and their tributaries, the Humber River in the west end and the Don River east of downtown. Both flow southward to Lake Ontario at Humber Bay and Toronto Harbour respectively, which are part of the longer Waterfront, as well as Etobicoke Creek and the Rouge River.
  The concentration and protection of Toronto's ravines allows for large tracts of densely forested valleys with recreational trails within the city. Approximately 26–28% of Toronto is covered with over 10 million trees, a fairly high percentage within a large city in North America and there are ambitious proposals to double the coverage. Toronto is on the northern edge of the Carolinian forest.
  The shoreline of the former Lake Iroquois is a major west−east geological feature, which was formed at the end of the Last Glacial Period.
context_section_description: Despite being cold, extended snow free periods occur in most winter seasons and precipitation can fall as rain with temperatures sometimes climbing above 10 °C (50 °F). Average winter snowfall is 121.5 cm (47.8 in) at the weather station in Downtown Toronto and 108.5 cm (42.72 in) at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
  The average January maximum/minimum is −1 °C (30 °F)/−7 °C (19 °F) in the city. There are usually a few colder periods where temperatures remain below −10 °C (14 °F) and less frequently below −20 °C (−4 °F) at night (especially in the northern suburbs), with wind chills making it feel like −30 °C (−22 °F).
  Due to its position on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto is not a direct target of heavy, wind−whipped lake-effect snow squalls that hit other Great Lake cities on the south/east shorelines of the lakes, in areas where prevailing winds amplify lake effect. Despite this, there are usually two or more heavy snowfalls each winter which deposit at least 15 cm (5.91 in) accumulation, usually from powerful winter storms known as Alberta clippers, "Colorado Lows" or panhandle hooks that pick up moisture en route to the Great Lakes. These storms can produce strong easterly driven winds that fetch additional moisture from Lake Ontario. They frequently come with a volatile mix of snow, ice pellets, freezing rain and sometimes just ordinary rain, all of which can disrupt transportation, and in severe cases, interrupt power supply. A sustained freezing rain event occurred on December 22, 2013 plunging 30% of the city into darkness, some until after Christmas Day.
  Such storms can also produce large snowfall amounts, higher totals found in areas closer to Lake Ontario, sometimes falling over a series of days or weeks creating havoc. On January 13, 1999, after a series of snowstorms, then-Toronto mayor Mel Lastman called in the Canadian Armed Forces to assist with snow removal and clearing streets. Within twelve days, the downtown Toronto weather station at the University of Toronto (Trinity College near Queens Park) recorded an average season's worth of 118.4 cm (46.6 in) of snow, much of it lake effect from Lake Ontario and a monthly record for January, but fell short of the snowiest month overall March 1870, with 158.5 cm (62.4 in), of which 89 cm (35.0 in) fell over a 5-day span. February 2008 set a record a snowfall record for the month with 76.8 cm (30.2 in) falling at the airport. The winter of 2007–08 brought accumulated seasonal snowfall totals of 209.7 cm (82.6 in) downtown and 194.0 cm (76.4 in) at the airport. The heavy winter snows, in combination with record rains during June–July of that year made 2008 the wettest year on the climate record with over 1,070 mm (42.1 in) of total precipitation. The largest single snowstorm on record took place on December 11–12, 1944, when 57.2 cm (22.5 in) accumulated, with 48.3 cm (19.0 in) on December 11 alone.
  On the opposite extreme, the winter of 2011–12 had the lowest seasonal snowfall total with only 41.8 cm (16.5 in). March 2012 was the warmest March on record. The least snowfall in a calendar year was 2006, with only 32.4 cm (12.8 in). The El Niño influenced winter of 2009–10 had 52.4 cm (20.6 in), March 2010 recorded no measurable snow, the first such occurrence in any March since 1946, and was followed by the warmest April ever on record.
  Winter weather conditions in Toronto can vary greatly from one year to another and is significantly affected by global weather patterns such as El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). El Niño winters are generally mild and dry, with decreased snowfall (such as the winters of 2009–2010 and 2015–2016), while La Niña winters tend have more precipitation (the aforementioned winters of 1999 and 2008 are both La Niña). ENSO Neutral years are more unpredictable.
caption: Milliken, a residential Scarborough neighbourhood, during an ice storm, on 15 April 2018.
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