Monday’s snow dump cracks top 10 heaviest snowfalls ever at Mississauga’s Pearson Airport

(Updated: This story has been updated with more specific information from Pearson Airport. Details at bottom of story)

Pearson Airport in Mississauga is still digging out today from Monday’s massive winter storm that dumped one of the highest snowfall totals ever reported in a single snowfall event at the airport.

The 33cm of snow measured at Pearson fell within the top 10 highest reported snowfall totals at the Mississauga-based airport, according to a summary from the Ontario Storm Prediction Centre.

Yesterday marked the third-largest snow event at Toronto Pearson since 1937 with a record-breaking 33 cm! The top two? February 25, 1956 with 39 cm and January 23, 1966 with 36 cm #ONStorm pic.twitter.com/us6CRVzvLu

— Toronto Pearson (@TorontoPearson) January 19, 2022

Pearson normally averages about 40cm of snow in an entire month.

At times on Monday, the snow was reportedly falling at Pearson at a rate of more than 10cm an hour.

Weather officials say the last time Pearson recorded more than 30cm in a single storm was in 2008.

The largest single-day snowfall recorded at Pearson Airport was 45.5cm in February 1965, according to the summary, which also noted that the 45cm recorded yesterday at Ottawa International Airport is a top 10 event there as well.

Snowfall amounts at Toronto Pearson Airport is among highest its ever seen https://t.co/HLCc0FH6Ah

— Lubuu (@Lubuu17) January 18, 2022

Yesterday’s massive snow dump in Mississauga and across the Golden Horseshoe was described by Environment Canada as a “once-in-a-decade kind of storm.”

Environment Canada severe weather meteorologist Ray Houle told CBC News that, “the general consensus around here is that it was a pretty historic storm. Not very often do we get a storm that brings snowfall amounts and blizzard-like conditions like that to the Golden Horseshoe and the GTA.”

Some parts of Mississauga reportedly received as much as 45cm of snow on Monday.

UPDATE: Pearson Airport officials said on Wednesday (Jan. 19) that Monday’s snowfall (33cm) was the third-largest single-storm snowfall amount recorded at the airport since 1937.