Toronto schools closed and commuters face delays as heavy snow blankets southern Ontario

TORONTO (AP) — Schools were closed in Canada's largest city of Toronto and commuters faced severe delays on Thursday as heavy snow continued to hammer much of southern Ontario, blocking streets and forcing cars into ditches.

Environment Canada said regions including the Greater Toronto Area, Kitchener and Hamilton are expected to see up to 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow into Thursday afternoon.

Toronto, York, Peel and Halton Region schools closed Thursday morning, and institutions including the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University and York University announced their campuses were closed.

Complete school closures due to snow are rare in Toronto.

Environment Canada said the Ottawa area will see up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of snow, tapering off Thursday evening. It added that northerly wind gusts of up to 60 kilometers (37 milies) per hour will result in blowing snow and reduced visibility, and a sharp temperature drop will cause very cold wind chills.

Provincial police advised residents to stay off the roads if possible, and officers responded to dozens of collisions and cars in ditches. Police said there were multiple road closures across southern Ontario, including ramps at the Highway 403 near the Burlington and Hamilton border and parts of Highway 401 in eastern Ontario.

Both Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow cancelled public events Thursday due to the inclement weather.

At Toronto’s Pearson airport, officials said air traffic management procedures were in place and impacting some arriving and departing flights.

Travellers were advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport, where snow clearing operations were underway.

Pedestrians cross Bay Street along Front Street amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)

Pedestrians, obscured by snow thrown by workers cleaning a work site overhead, cross Adelaide Street along Yonge Street amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)

Pedestrians cross Adelaide Street along Yonge Street amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)

A cargo cyclist rides along Adelaide Street East amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)

Commuters make their way to their destinations on King Street East amid heavy snowfall and accumulation as snow and heavy winds continue to hammer the Greater Toronto Area, in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (Giordano Ciampini /The Canadian Press via AP)

BOGUE CHITTO, Miss. (AP) — Powerful storms that included at least three tornadoes tore through several Mississippi counties, damaging around 500 homes, uprooting trees and injuring at least 17 people, authorities said Thursday.

There were no immediate reports of deaths after storms cut across the state's southwest on Wednesday night, said Scott Simmons, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

He said 12 of those hurt were transported from a hard-hit trailer park in the small community of Bogue Chitto, about an hour's drive south of the state capital in rural Lincoln County.

Most of the two dozen homes at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply were flattened into heaps of splintered boards and twisted metal. People picked through the debris Thursday morning under cloudy skies as a chainsaw buzzed in the background.

“I was just watching TikTok on my bed and thought it was thunder. I went to my living room. I went back to my room, and the room’s gone,” resident Max Mahaffey told WAPT-TV.

He said he wasn't injured, but his grandmother hurt her ankle and some of his neighbors suffered cuts and bruises.

One intact trailer lay flipped on its roof near the tree line. Several cars, some with hazard lights blinking, appeared to have been picked up by the storm.

“We know there were at least three tornadoes,” said Daniel Lamb, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office in Jackson.

“The same storm produced at least two tornadoes from Franklin, Lincoln into Lawrence counties, and then there was another one from Lamar possibly into Forest County.”

He said there may have been more. “Those are just the ones that we are able to confirm by radar before even having gone down there.”

“Pray for Mississippi,” Gov. Tate Reeves posted online, saying the state Emergency Management Agency was coordinating response efforts.

Many roads were still blocked in Lincoln County and teams from the agency were assessing the damage.

“We ask that you please refrain from sightseeing as crews are working,” the department posted early Thursday.

The governor said a volunteer rescue group was providing a 50-person shelter pod, a high-powered generator and 10 pallets of supplies to the county, which reported at least 200 damaged homes.

Lamar County to the southeast reported about 275 homes damaged, according to the state emergency management agency. Another 10 to 12 homes were damaged in Lawrence County.

More storms were expected Thursday with the possibility of tornadoes across parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, the weather service said. Strong storms also were possible for parts of the Carolinas and Texas.

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

In this frame grab from video taken by WDAM, damaged trees and a house or structure following a storm that tore through part of Lamar County, Mississippi, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (WDAM via AP)