Flash freeze to turn Toronto roads into slick, icy mess lasting through to Sunday

It may be mild out now but prepare for a flash freeze making for slick and slippery driving conditions lasting through to Sunday morning.

A messy mix of freezing drizzle, ice pellets and light snow is expected to descend on Toronto Saturday night, Environment Canada warns.

The city is under a freezing drizzle advisory and as temperatures fall to minus double-digits, highways, roads, walkways and parking lots could be coated with thin but hard-to-detect layers of ice, the agency says. 

• Police urge drivers to be cautious as Toronto begins snowy weekend

After a generous dumping of snow Friday night, temperatures climbed up to just above the freezing mark Saturday, turning the white stuff to slush in many parts of the city. But the warm up will end in the early hours of Sunday morning as the mercury falls to as low as -14 C with a wind chill of -21. 

Salt trucks have been deployed on main roads in Etobicoke, the city said in a tweet and crews expect to complete their first round of plowing on sidewalks by 12 a.m.  A second round begins at 2 a.m. and will continue throughout Sunday.

The city is also urging residents not to shovel snow onto roads both to avoid endangering motorists and cyclists, and so as not to hamper snow-clearing operations.

Meanwhile, anyone flying out from the city should check their flight status before heading out, Toronto's Pearson International Airport says. 

Earlier Saturday, more than 100 flights due to arrive and about 70 flights due to depart had been cancelled due to snow.