Toronto

Climate

Climate	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Daily highs °C	-1	0	5	12	18	24	27	26	21	14	8	2
Nightly lows °C	-7	-6	-2	4	10	15	18	18	14	7	2	-3
Precipitation mm	61	51	66	70	73	72	68	80	83	65	76	71
See the Toronto 7 day forecast at Environment Canada

Toronto's climate is on the whole on the cool side and variable conditions can be expected, temperatures average -3.8°C 25°F in January downtown, however the type of extreme cold experienced in parts of Canada further north do not hold a tight grip for usually more than a couple of days at a time, despite this come prepared, winters are still cold, mostly cloudy and at times, snowy and uncomfortably windy. The city experiences warm and humid summers with an average high of 27°C 80°F and a low of 18°C 65°F in July/August with many muggy evenings but rarely extreme heat, historically with an average of only 12 days where the temperature exceeds 30°C 86°F however this number has doubled over the past 12 years. Hotter airmasses often arrive with moderately high humidity levels but are typically short lived. Late spring/early summer and early fall are generally considered to be the best times to visit for weather, with comfortably cool nights and less crowds, mid-summer is the peak tourist season, but visitors will find that Toronto's vibrancy extends through the winter with outdoor ice-rinks and bundled up clubgoers, etc. Toronto's public buildings are nearly all air-conditioned and fully heated.

Sometimes during the winter, severe storms can slow down transportation and activities in the city for a day or two. In the summer, thunderstorms occur from time to time, most lasting less than an hour.

Sports teams & arenas

Toronto has several major league sports teams:

Toronto Argonauts

(http://argonauts.ca) - Canadian Football League, play at Rogers Centre.

Toronto Blue Jays

(http://www.bluejays.com) - Major League Baseball, play at Rogers Centre.

Toronto Maple Leafs

(http://www.mapleleafs.com) - National Hockey League, play at the Air Canada Centre.

Toronto Raptors

(http://www.nba.com/raptors/) - National Basketball Association, play at the Air Canada Centre.

Toronto Rock

(http://www.torontorock.com) - National Lacrosse League, play at the Air Canada Centre.

Toronto FC

(http://toronto.fc.mlsnet....) - Major League Soccer, play at BMO Field on Exhibition Place grounds.

Toronto Marlies

(http://www.torontomarlies.com) - American Hockey League Toronto Maple Leafs farm team. Play at the Ricoh Coliseum.

The Air Canada Centre, 40 Bay St, (http://www.theaircanadace...). Sometimes referred to as "The Hangar".

The Rogers Centre, 1 Blue Jays Way, (http://www.rogerscentre.com)). Often referred to by its original "SkyDome" name.

The Buffalo Bills, (http://www.buffalobills.com). The National Football League are under contract to play one exhibition and one regular season home game at the Rogers Centre through to the 2012 season.

Understand

In 1998, the cities of Toronto, Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke, and York and the Borough of East York amalgamated to form the current City of Toronto. This is also known as Metropolitan Toronto or "the 416" after its area code although now there are some new area codes, the overwhelming number of landline phone numbers in the Toronto area are still "416" and has a population of over 2.6 million people. More than half of these were born in some country other than Canada: a fact obvious to any visitor immediately, as the city has many vibrant bustling neighbourhoods with street signs in several languages.

Toronto and its surrounding suburbs are collectively known as the Greater Toronto Area GTA. Outlying suburbs are also known as "the 905" after their area code, although technically this code is also used in both Hamilton and the Niagara Region, stretching to the border in Niagara Falls. The entire area including Toronto is known as the "Golden Horseshoe" and has a population of over 8 million people. Distances between cities in the area can be great as it sprawls along, outward and even wraps around the western end of Lake Ontario; public transit is not always effective enough to make it a quick or seamless trip. Many suburban residents rely on motor vehicles to get around.

A popular urban myth has it that the United Nations rated Toronto as "the most multicultural city in the world". While the UN and its agencies are not in the habit of rating cities, it remains a fact that Canada is a nation of immigrants, and Toronto demonstrates this abundantly. A UN agency lists Toronto as second only to Miami as the city with the most foreign-born residents, but Toronto's residents represent far more cultural and language groups, which is arguably a better measure of multi-culturalism. Most immigrants either pass through Toronto on their way to other parts of the country or stay in Toronto permanently. Many people born abroad consider themselves Canadian as much as born Canadians and will be offended if treated otherwise. This contributes to the overall cultural mosaic that is Toronto today. Within Toronto, most ethnic groups will work their way into the fabric of Canadian society but some still retain their distinct ways such as language, dress if only for special occasions, customs, and food.

As a result of this cultural mosaic, Toronto is home to many ethnic festivals throughout the year. Toronto also boasts several radio stations which broadcast in various languages as well as at least two multicultural television channels. The City of Toronto officially deals in 16 different languages while the Toronto Transit Commission public transit has a helpline that deals in 70 languages. Even large department stores such as The Bay in downtown Toronto proudly advertise service in 9 languages. The lingua franca of Toronto, however, remains English.