Wind chills reach between -30 and -40 degrees
Frigid temperatures and chilling winds continue wreaked havoc across the city Tuesday, paralyzing streetcars, delaying flights and leavingTorontonians in the cold.
Environment Canada issued wind chill warnings on Tuesday for the city of Toronto, with wind chills reaching between -30 and -40 degrees. Winds topped 50 kilometres per hour in the evening.
TTC streetcar service was hit during the morning peak, with 40 or 50 of 200 streetcars not able to roll out, according to Chief Service Officer Chris Upfold.
Some passengers were left waiting out in the cold for at least half an hour, although the TTC sent out buses to replace service on the affected routes.
All TTC streetcars were delayed Tuesday afternoon “due to extreme cold,” according to a tweet from the transit agency, and buses were sent out.
Upfold said aging equipment can lead to problems in the cold, including braking issues. “As much as you maintain 30-year-old equipment, it does start to have problems,” he said.
He said many of these issues will be resolved once the new streetcar fleet is rolled out in the next few years.
School buses were also cancelled for Toronto Catholic and Toronto District School Boards on Tuesday due to the weather, although schools remained open. The TDSB warned that school bus delays and cancellations are also possible on Wednesday and are advising parents to check their website or Twitter page for updates.
Davisville Public School was closed after a gas leak forced the school to shut off the heat, but officials said Tuesday evening that heat had been restored and the school would be open Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Automobile Association reported almost three times more calls for service than usual. It said it typically receives on average 3,000 calls per day across south central Ontario, but on Tuesday received about 8,000 calls, mostly related to battery problems.
Source: CBC Toronto
