1) What year was "the great Toronto snowstorm," when almost 50 cm of snow fell in one day and most roads were shut down in the city?
a) 1964
b) 1944
c) 1979
d) 2008
2) After how many centimetres of snowfall will the City of Toronto send out snowplows to expressways (but not main roads)?
a) Three cm
b) Five cm
c) Two cm
d) Eight cm
3) Which major Canadian city receives the most average snowfall annually?
a) Winnipeg
b) Whitehorse
c) Quebec City
d) St. John's
4) How many snow-storage facilities does the City of Toronto have?
a) Five
b) Three
c) Seven
d) Two
5) How many Toronto residents were fined in 2016 for not shovelling their sidewalks within 12 hours of a snowfall?
a) 12
b) 86
c) 47
d) 52
6) How many snowplows (for both sidewalks and roads) does the City of Toronto have?
a) 900
b) 500
c) 1,000
d) 700
7) What year saw the highest temperature on Dec. 12 in Toronto?
a) 1973
b) 2004
c) 1949
d) 1936
8) How much does the City of Toronto allocate for snow control?
a) $40-million
b) $75-million
c) $35-million
d) $90-million
9) What's the ideal temperature for making a snowman?
a) 2 to 3 C
b) 0 to -1 C
c) -3 to -4 C
d) -5 to -6 C
10) What is Toronto's average annual snowfall?
a) 95 cm
b) 133 cm
c) 267 cm
d) 109 cm
11) How much road salt does the City of Toronto stock for winter?
a) 130,000 tonnes
b) 85,000 tonnes
c) 60,000 tonnes
d) 160,000 tonnes
12) What happened in the snow emergency of January, 1999, in Toronto?
a) There were multiple snowstorms that accumulated more than 50 cm of snow in just a few days
b) The army was deployed to the city to help clear streets
c) The rest of Canada mocked Toronto mercilessly
d) All of the above
Answers
Question 1 answer: b) 1944. 21 people died in the storm, 13 from overexertion. Because the roads were closed, deliveries for fuel and milk were postponed, and the local munition factories were temporarily shut down.
Question 2 answer: c) Two centimetres. After five cm, the city will plow main roads.
Question 3 answer: d) St. John's, Nfld. St. John's receives an average of 335 cm of snow a year.
Question 4 answer: a) Five. The city also has three snow-melting facilities. Both types of facilities are only used if there is heavy snowfall and the windrows (leftover from the snowplows) are becoming dangerous.
Question 5 answer: c) 47. The residents were fined $125 each for not clearing sidewalks 12 hours after a snowfall.
Question 6 answer: a) 900 (there are 600 snowplows for the road and 300 for sidewalks). 150 snowplows have so far been deployed for this most recent snowstorm.
Question 7 answer: c) 1949, with a temperature of almost 14 C.
Question 8 answer: d) $90-million. The City of Toronto spent just under $83-million in 2016.
Question 9 answer: b) 0 C to -1 C, when the snow is wet but not slush, perfect for compacting into Frosty.
Question 10 answer: d) 109 centimetres, falling below most major Canadian cities except Saskatoon and Vancouver.
Question 11 answer: a) 130,000 tonnes. The city has about 60,000 tonnes of salt on hand.
Question 12 answer: d) All of the above.