Remember when Toronto called in the military to clear snow? Here’s how this storm compares

It was one storm after another after another. And then another.

It was, to quote CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault, looking like “the snowiest January in 200 years.” That was Toronto in January 1999, and to most people who experienced it, it was entirely too much snow.

“Tonight, the army moves in. Another blizzard hits southern Ontario, and Toronto just can’t cope,” The National told viewers at the start of the broadcast on the night of Jan. 14, 1999. 

That day, as a storm dropped more snow on the city, 400 soldiers arrived from Petawawa to help with snow removal. Toronto mayor Mel Lastman had called them in, drawing ridicule from many people in other cities across wintry Canada.

WATCH | That time the military helped dig out Toronto:

#TheMoment the military helped Toronto dig out back in 1999

The National revisits the moment back in 1999 when Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman called in the military to help dig the city out of a major snowstorm.

Fast forward to 2026, and Toronto is once again buried after a monster storm dumped snow across the region.

School boards have closed for the day, OPP have already responded to almost 200 collisions across the GTA in the past 24 hours and on Sunday, Toronto Pearson Airport recorded its highest daily snowfall on record.

Some people may be wondering how they’ll possibly clear so much snow. But how does it compare to January 1999, when tanks roamed Toronto streets and troops were handed shovels?

Let’s break it down.

Too much snow

A large and strong low-pressure area brought a large snowstorm across much of southern Ontario on Sunday night, Environment Canada notes, creating significant impacts on transportation and leading to school closures across much of the GTA and surrounding areas.

Toronto Pearson Airport recorded 46 cm of snow on Sunday (with up to 56 cm observed downtown) — the highest daily snowfall there on record. This also brought the January snowfall total to 88.2 cm.

It’s a lot of snow. But January 1999 was something else entirely.

A storm on Jan. 2 dumped about 47 cm on the city. The next weekend, Toronto saw another 10 to 15 cm. And it just kept getting worse. By Jan. 12, Toronto had accumulated more than 105 cm of snow that month, according to data compiled by CBC’s Climate Dashboard and Environment and Climate Change Canada.

And then came one more storm, burying Toronto in another 35 cm. By Jan. 14, the city had accumulated 140 cm of snow that month.

“The city is snowed in,” CBC’s Arsenault reported on Jan. 14. “What’s happening here may be tame for other Canadians, but this city is truly overwhelmed.”

Enter the army.

In an interview with The National, Toronto mayor Mel Lastman told Peter Mansbridge the military was working on cleaning the catch basins and shovelling around fire hydrants. By Jan. 15, Lastman said the worst was over.

Now, back to 2026. The total January accumulation of 88.4 cm is nothing to shake a shovel at. On Monday, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow told a news conference they had 600 plows on city roads and sidewalks.

But it doesn’t come close to the record 145 cm of accumulated snow on this day in 1999.

“I don’t think we need to bring in the army,” Chow joked Monday.