A courageous cyclist weighed down by snowy tires crossing campus. A devoted dog owner on a walk with his pup. A hungry student taking a study break to pick up some pizza.
These were some of the community members who braved snow, ice pellets and winds on Tuesday to trek to Ryerson.
Feb. 12, 2019 was the first full snow day Ryerson’s had in more than five years. 
Chris O’Brien and his dog Miss Cleo, local residents who make regular visits to the Quad, run in the snow on Feb. 12, 2019. 
Two students trek through the snowy Bond Street sidewalk in sneakers on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A student, who identified himself as a fourth-year studying financial math at Ryerson, picked up some pizza during a study break on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A cyclist pedals across the Church and Gould Streets intersection on Feb. 12, 2019. 
Community members walk towards campus against the wind on Gould Street on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A staff member plows the Bond Street sidewalk on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A cyclist walks alongside his bike heavy with snow-covered tires on Church Street on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A local resident walks past the Quad on her way home to eat a sub during the snow day on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A cyclist bikes up Church Street during the storm on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A group crosses Yonge Street dressed in winter boots and coats during the snowstorm on Feb. 12, 2019. 
Local resident Chris O’Brien and his pup Miss Cleo play in the snowy Quad on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A cyclist waits for the light to go green, his boots sunken into the snow, at the Church and Gould Street intersection on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A truck with a plow drives down Church Street on Feb. 12, 2019. 
The campus hot dog stand was closed during the snowstorm on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A student walks down the Student Learning Centre steps after discovering the doors were locked during the storm on Feb. 12, 2019. 
Josh, a Torontonian who passed through Ryerson on Feb. 12, 2019, walks down the middle of Gould Street. 
A student walks past Balzac’s Coffee Roasters on Gould Street during the storm on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A plow clears snow off campus streets during the storm on Feb. 12, 2019. 
A community member walks down Yonge Street as ice pellets fall from the sky on Feb. 12, 2019.
All photos taken by Maggie Macintosh
Environment Canada issued a winter storm warning alert for the GTA Tuesday. Between 15 and 25 centimetres of snow and ice pellets and winds as fast as 80 km/h were forecast into the evening
Ryerson classes, university-run events, research labs, exams, business services and administrative operations were affected by the storm that blanketed the city in white.
It was the first full snow day for Ryerson in more than five years. The last time Ryerson shuttered operations due to snow was on Feb. 8, 2013 — when a storm brought more than 30 cm of snow to Toronto.
So far this year Ryerson has cancelled classes on three separate occasions due to severe weather. The university cancelled classes after 1 p.m. on Feb. 6 and evening classes on Jan. 28.
The vice-president, administration and operations and the provost and vice-president, academic are in charge of making snow day decisions.
“Though it happens rarely, if severe weather conditions put the safety of the community at risk, the university may close operations,” according to Ryerson’s website.
Tuesday’s weather is associated with a Colorado low that will cross Southern Ontario in the evening.
