Winter Storm Could Snarl Toronto Pearson Flights; World’s Best Beaches List Misses the Mark

Old man winter doesn’t appear to be finished with Canada just yet.

Officials at Toronto Pearson Airport are warning of potential flight delays and cancellations at Canada’s largest airport due to a forecast of heavy snow today (March 22), the third full day of spring.

“Toronto Pearson is expecting up to 13 cm of snow to fall at the airport, starting in the early afternoon Friday and continuing through the night,” officials said on the YYZ Twitter/X account. “At the heaviest points of the storm, we could see up to 3 cm of snow per hour at the airport.

A snowy airport. Karim Balaa/Unsplash Photo

“Our crews are preparing our specialized snow removal equipment to keep the taxiways, aprons, and runways as clear as possible. With any winter storm, there is the possibility that airlines will need to cancel and delay some flights.”

“Light snow is expected to begin this morning, but should intensify late in the afternoon or evening,” Environment Canada said in a report on Toronto weather for the day.

The World’s Best Beaches? Not So Sure About This List

A UK company called Beach Atlas has come up with a list of the top 100 beaches in the world, and it’s a little baffling.

I like the fact that it’s got listings for some lesser-known places. Who knew that Pakistan had beautiful beaches? I certainly didn’t. I also like that they included Long Beach in British Columbia.

But I don’t think these experts know much about the Caribbean, or Hawaii, which has the number 3 entry but not another spot in the top 100.

The news release I received says the experts used a number of factors to make their list, including cultural significance, diversity, party/lifestyle appeal and “classic beauty.” That’s not a bad way to look at things, but when it comes time to rank a beach I don’t think cultural significance matters a whole lot. I guess some folks care about night life, but I sure don’t.

Waikiki Beach, Oahu, Hawaii.

I don’t see how anyone can rank Venice Beach (22nd overall) ahead of Malibu, or Corona del Mar, or Capitola Beach near Santa Cruz. And I don’t see a single listing for the Bahamas, or for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. They also left out Trunk Bay in the U.S. Virgin Islands, easily one of the top 10 or 20 beaches on the planet. I love Lake Bled in Slovenia, but I don’t remember seeing a beach, at least not a sandy one. Also, where is Western Australia on this list?

Still, I do like seeing some new an unexpected places, such as the Marieta Islands of Mexico and beaches in Switzerland and Ireland. Here’s their top 20, along with a link to the full listing.

1. Bora Bora (maybe the world’s most beautiful island, but it’s not known for beaches)
2. Boulders Beach, South Africa (cute penguins, but not the second best beach in the world)
3. Waikiki Beach, Hawaii (you could argue other Hawaii beaches are better, but they likely gave points for culture and diversity, so I get it)
4. Copacabana, Brazil
5. Maya Bay, Thailand
6. Black Sand Beach, Iceland
7. Glass Beach, California
8. JBR Beach, Dubai 
9. Skeleton Coast, Namibia
10. Omaha Beach, France
11. Whitehaven Beach, Australia
12. Pattaya Beach, Thailand
13. Cap d’Adge, France
14. Lake Lucerne, Switzerland
15. Barceloneta Beach, Spain
16. Bondi Beach, Australia 
17. Source d’Argent, Seychelles
18. Playa d’en Bossa, Spain (Ibiza)
19. Elia Beach, Greece
20. Playa del Amor, Mexico (Marieta Islands, near Puerto Vallarta)