Updated: Mon Dec. 17 2007 6:20:08 PM

toronto.ctv.ca

Toronto snow plows were still out in full force on Monday, working to clear side streets that were buried by one of the worst winter storms in years.

The city received a dumping of 26 centimetres on Sunday, just missing a 44-year-record for snowfall in one day.

Crews were able to clear main arterial roads and highways in the GTA in time for the Monday morning commute, but sections of roads were still slushy and slippery.

Police were called to dozens of accidents, including a 15-vehicle pileup that closed a section of Highway 400. The Canadian Automobile Association said they received twice as many phone calls than on a typical day.

Residential streets were snowed in after the heavy snowfall. Plows were hoping to have side streets cleared by Tuesday morning.

Toronto Transportation manager Myles Currie congratulated his team of plowers and salters in response to the storm.

"The crews worked very hard. We had a great plan," Currie said on Monday morning.

"We knew the storm was coming and I can't say enough about the crews that did their job in the last 24 hours."

Toronto Fire urged homeowners who had fire hydrants on their property to clear snow around them so that they would be visible.

School buses cancelled, flights delayed

Blowing snow and reduced visibility in some areas on Monday morning led the Toronto District School Board and Toronto's French and Catholic District School Board to cancel buses and other transportation services. Schools in the area, however, remained open.

Public schools in Peel were open for the day but the Peel District School Board cancelled buses in Caledon and the Dufferin Peel Catholic School Board cancelled buses in Dufferin County and Caledon.

Buses were running as usual for York Region's public and Catholic schools.

GO Transit buses were experiencing delays of up to 20 minutes and several GO Trains were delayed because of operational problems.

Flights coming in and out of Pearson International Airport were also affected by the storm's aftermath. The country's busiest airport reported several delays and cancellations. Travellers were warned to check ahead for the status of their flight.

Some 400 flights were affected on Sunday. Many travellers spent the night at the airport. Some said their rescheduled flight wasn't leaving until Wednesday.

The Ontario Provincial Police reported about 800 accidents in the GTA on Sunday, and 1,650 crashes over the weekend.

On Monday morning, drivers were finding it a bit difficult to get around on local roads. There were reports of buses and drivers getting stuck in the snow throughout Toronto.

The city's transportation services department said homeowners should refrain from pushing snow from their driveways onto the road as it complicates conditions for other drivers on the street.

The storm's aftermath

The snow finally stopped falling around 3 a.m. Monday, according to Environment Canada's website. Only the extreme southeastern section of the province is expected to see more snow fall throughout the day.

Early estimates are that areas such as Cornwall, Embrun and Russell were hit the hardest, receiving about 50 centimetres of snow.

St. Catharines received the least amount of snow in the province, recording about 13 centimetres.

Clean-up costs for the 26 centimetres of snow that hit Toronto were estimated at $5 million.

David Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada, told the Toronto Star the highest recorded amount of snow falling in the city during one day in December is 28 centimetres. That was 63 years ago on Dec. 11, 1944.

The storm is headed to Atlantic Canada next.

With reports from CTV's Roger Petersen and Janice Golding