Approaching weather seen at 9.55 a.m. Thursday/Accu Weather

Environment Canada is forecasting 10 to 20 mm of rainfall later Thursday with a risk of freezing rain. Then, Toronto will see 10 to 15 cm of snowfall by Friday mid-morning. It impossible to predict just what the roads will look like during the evening but conditions will be poor. The Accu Weather radar of the approaching rain and snow above was captured at 9.55 a.m. Thursday. Here’s what EC is saying.

Timing:
Rain will transition to snow by early this evening. Freezing rain may be possible during the transition.

Discussion:
Rain may become heavy at times today before changing to snow early this evening. A brief period of freezing rain may be possible this evening during the transition. By mid evening, all precipitation should be falling as snow, with as much as 10 to 15 cm of snow expected by Friday mid-morning.

Confidence is lower for if and how long freezing rain will occur for, but it is generally not expected to be a major impact for this event. Confidence is higher that a snowfall of 10 cm will happen tonight.

If 15 cm of snow is thought to be more likely, a Snowfall Warning may be issued. Stay tuned…regardless, expect poor road conditions beginning this evening due to accumulating snow.

Sunnybrook vets get Pfizer vaccine (Instagram / @sunnybrookhsc)

Sunnybrook HSC has begun vaccinating elderly residents of the Sunnybrook Veterans Centre with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot. The first two recipients said they were excited to be part of the historic moment. They are Richard Ratcliffe, 92, an RCN vet, and Stanley Dinney, 98, who served with the RCAF during World War II. Sunnybrook veterans are among those prioritized to receive the vaccine from our first shipment, which arrived Monday.

Tickets issued with discretion

Toronto Police issued a notice Wednesday indicating that parking regulation enforcement will be less strict than normal as the City heads into the latest lockdown. Here is the notice.

The Toronto Police Service has been working closely with our City of Toronto and Emergency Management partners in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to support the various programs implemented by the City to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

In support of the provincial COVID-19 regulatory lockdown the Parking Enforcement Unit will be commencing an enforcement approach to on-street parking where a high level of discretion will be applied. This will be effective immediately. Enforcement will focus on offences that create safety concerns, disrupt snow removal processes or cause significant disruptions in the flow of traffic on city streets.

We ask for the public’s cooperation in parking legally to ensure that the efficient flow of traffic in the City of Toronto is maintained. These measures will remain in effect until further notice.

Northeast corner of Avenue Rd. and Glenview Ave/680 News@680News

A woman has been charged with impaired driving after this car hit the utility pole at Avenue Rd. and Glencairn Ave just south of Havergal College late Tuesday. Avenue takes a bit of a swing to the left going northbound at this corner.

Suspicious package person

Could that be blond hair trailing out from under toque?

There’s a man or teen who has delivered not one but two suspicious packages to the same convenience store in Oshawa recently. Durham police have blown up both of them without much trouble but they would really like to find this guy. Call 1 (888) 579-1520 ext. 2766. He may have long blond hair as seen in the surveillance picture at the right.

Approaching weather seen at 11 a,.m Wednesday

Weather Network forecast

Environment Canada is warning of possible heavy rain followed by snow on Christmas Eve and into Christmas Day. But just how much of each will fall in Toronto remains unclear. “There remains considerable uncertainty as to the exact track of this low-pressure system and the timing of the changeover from rain to snow. This will ultimately affect how much snow may fall at any particular location,” reads the statement from Environment Canada. Weather Network

A long and sympathetic chat among members of Leaside Community brings to light the serious threat to dogs from discarded marijuana. It can throw pets for quite a loop. Be careful please, although that may be a contradiction in terms. FB

Cineplex Inc. will sell its head office building at 1303 Yonge St. between Jackes and Woodlawn Aves. for $57 million as business conditions change in the theatre industry. Most critical for the movie house firm is C-19 related closures. It saw a staggering 90 percent drop in business between the summers of 2019 and 2020. But even long-term, Cineplex and other theatre operators face the challenge of popular entertainment streaming. Cineplex says it will continue to lease back its Toronto office for up to a decade, but plans to consolidate its office space in Toronto.

The premier believes, and the evidence seems to support it, that thousands of people are arriving in Canada from all over the world with hardly any effort to check if they’re infectious. It may be why many suspect that the variant strain of C-19 identified in the UK is already here. Of course, if it weren’t for modern jet travel, the Coronavirus would still be confined to China. Funny about that.

The stout-hearted friends and organizers of the Leaside Toy Drive have posted video and pictures of their work this season. Toys were delivered to three out of four schools. Unfortunately, one school did not re-open before school break. They will be delivered as soon as possible. FB

Premier Ford said Monday that the province will close down until at least January 22 beginning Boxing Day. And it appears that hospital overload is a major part of a potential crisis. Ford dismissed the idea of a nighttime curfew, something that some say was helpful to Australia and New Zealand in slowing the virus. But the premier said a curfew was akin to a police state.

Sombre policewoman carries boy’s jacket from a storm management pond in Milton/Graham Paine@GPmedia_24

Two boys rescued from water of the Pittock Conservation Area in Woodstock/Woodstock Fire Department

A boy of 11 has died in Milton when he fell through the thin ice of a large storm management pond in that community Saturday afternoon. His young friend was able to get out of the icy water and run for help. But it was too late. Fire and police authorities arrived quickly but it took them 15 minutes to find the boy’s lifeless body.

Woodstock boys rescued

Two boys were rescued from Pittock Conservation area water Sunday after they fell through thin ice well offshore. But they were within sight of pedestrians who called for help. One lad was still lying on the ice and the other was up to his chest in water as the Woodstock Fire Department launched rubber rafts to make the rescue.