Rare November snowfall triggers delays at YYZ and beyond

An early blast of winter across southern Ontario disrupted operations at Toronto Pearson over the weekend, with five-plus centimetres recorded by Monday morning.

It's the earliest such accumulation at YYZ since October 22, 1969, according to the Weather Network. 

Environment Canada had issued a special weather statement ahead of the system, which delivered between two and 10 centimetres of snow from London to Ottawa. 

According to FlightAware, Toronto Pearson had recorded 232 delays and 57 cancellations as of 11:30 a.m. Sunday. 

Montreal-Trudeau is experiencing departure delays of an average of 50 minutes.

In the United States, the same weather system collided with the ongoing federal government shutdown. 

U.S. airlines cut more than 1,500 flights Saturday and nearly 2,900 Sunday after the FAA ordered traffic reductions due to air traffic controller staffing issues. 

By early Monday, another 1,600 cancellations were already posted for the day, with nearly 1,000 more scheduled for Tuesday.

Airports in Chicago, Newark, Orlando and Detroit posted departure delays of more than an hour, according to FlightAware. 

Industry analysts say even if Congress reaches a deal to reopen the government, it will take time for schedules to normalize because airlines are increasingly unable to reposition aircraft and crews.

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