More snow, more cold temperatures for Toronto

Sunday marked another bitterly cold day in Toronto, with temperatures holding in the negative double-digits until late in the evening.

At Pearson International Airport, the temperature stayed between -16 C and -17 C for much of the morning. The windchill made it feel almost twice that at times.

By 10 p.m. on Sunday, Environment Canada was reporting that the temperature at the airport was -6 C, though the forecast for the day ahead suggested the mercury was about to drop back down.

The expected high for Monday is -10 C, while the low is -21 C.

The city also saw snow falling in the midday, with Environment Canada predicting an accumulation of between two and four centimetres.

Environment Canada had issued special weather statements for much of the Greater Toronto Area, advising drivers that blowing snow would be an issue on Monday and possibly the day after that.

As of late Sunday evening, the areas affected by these special weather statements included much of York, Durham, as well as Halton and Peel regions.

Hundreds of collisions

The cold and snowy weather has been causing problems on roads across Ontario this weekend.

Since Friday, the Ontario Provincial Police say they have responded to more than 1,600 crashes, including three fatal ones.

As a result, police are advising the public to stay off the roads unless they absolutely have to go somewhere.

"We put out several media releases telling people to stay at home and people ignored us and still travelled out," OPP Const. Paul Nancekivell said.

"And they’ve got to realize, they are not only putting their own lives at risk, they are putting the lives of emergency responders at risk."

Some Toronto skiers were taking the advice of police and staying close to home.

On Sunday, Rosario Arce was skiing with her family at Toronto’s Earl Bales Park.

Arce told CBC Toronto she'd rather go skiing near the city than risk getting into a collision while making her way to a ski hill.

"We can have fun without being exposed to any accidents because of the weather," said Arce.

The OPP says eight of its own cruisers were struck on the way to collisions this weekend.

For those who have to head out on the road, Nancekivell says police recommend drivers ensure they have enough gas in their cars.

Nancekivell said drivers should also have a fully charged cellphone, washer fluid, warm clothing as well as matches and candles with them.