Toronto, here we go again.

Residents just warming up after last month’s massive ice storm were bracing themselves for another bashing from Mother Nature — and a very messy Monday morning commute.

But despite a freezing rain warning Sunday night and a possible flash-freeze early Monday, there’s a silver lining: Environment Canada says the chilling forecast is unlikely to cause anything near the same amount of damage as the December ice storm .

“Not even close,” said meteorologist Arnold Ashton. “The freezing rain is of such short duration that we’re expecting hardly any accumulation on trees or hydro lines, therefore hydro issues shouldn’t be a concern at all.”

Residents across the GTA could be in for a nasty morning on the roads, however. Roads were treacherous on Sunday night, with police scrambling to deal with dozens of traffic calls and at least one fatal single-car collision in Brampton that police said was weather related.

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A freezing rain warning was issued at 4 a.m. Sunday morning and updated later in the evening , extending to the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, London and Niagara, among others.

Ashton said Toronto would see about 5 cm of snow Sunday evening, before the precipitation turned to freezing rain.

The freezing rain was expected to last only a few hours, before turning to rain, as temperatures warmed up to about 2C or 3C. With the rain forecast to taper off at around 5 a.m., temperatures were expected to plummet quickly.

“It’s going to be a bit of a rollercoaster night,” said Ashton on Sunday evening. “When that precipitation ends, our temperature will immediately start to fall to -3C or -4C within a few hours.”

That’s what causes the dangerous “flash-freeze,” when temperatures drop suddenly and residual water and moisture quickly freezes, making sidewalks and roads extremely slippery.

Ashton warned that commuters and pedestrians should give themselves extra time Monday morning to deal with icy surfaces.

“It’s a travel issue. The sidewalks can become slippery too, but the more dangerous elements are the multi-car pile-ups,” he said. “I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but vehicular accidents are a concern.”

Peel Regional Police said the nasty weather is believed to be a factor in a single-vehicle crash near Steeles Ave. E. and Finch Ave. W. at around 5:45 p.m. Sunday that left a man dead and his passenger in hospital with minor injuries.

The Ontario Provincial Police also said they received a barrage of calls in the GTA Sunday evening, with as many as 50 calls within the space of 90 minutes.

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“OPP officers in the GTA are responding to more than one call every two minutes,” one officer tweeted.

Road salters were also out in force on Sunday night. The City of Toronto’s communication department tweeted that all roads were being salted in preparation for Monday’s icy conditions.

Many flights were also reported delayed or cancelled from Toronto Pearson International Airport because of the storm.

The Toronto District School Board and Peel District School Board said they would issue statements on Twitter and to media before 6 a.m. if there were any bus cancellations.

But even in the wake of the storm, there will be more bad news. By mid-Monday, bitterly cold winds will develop, producing dangerously low wind chills beginning later that night, warned Ashton.

The Toronto District School Board and Peel District School Board said they would issue statements on Twitter and to media before 6 a.m. if there were any bus cancellations.

But even in the wake of the storm, there will be more bad news. By mid-Monday, bitterly cold winds will develop, producing dangerously low wind chills beginning later that night, warned Ashton.

“Let’s just say, if you thought it was cold last week, wait until this week,” he said. “The coldest air in many, many years is poised to arrive in Southern Ontario on Monday.”

Ashton said temperatures will hit their coldest point on Tuesday morning with a low of -25C. Wind chills will bottom out around -40C, and the winds will be moving at 30 to 50 kilometres per hour, he added.

Weather Network meteorologist Gina Ressler also assured Toronto residents that the storm would not be anything like last month’s ice storm. She said the biggest issue would be the drop in temperature Monday morning.

“Come Monday morning, temperatures are going to drop really rapidly,” she said. “It looks like between about 4 to 6 a.m. we could be dropping about 8 to 10 degrees.”

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