TORONTO —
Five provinces are set to be hit by a multiday winter storm this week. Some areas will see up to 30cm of snow.
Environment Canada has issued Winter storm alertsSouthern Ontario, Southern Quebec, the three Maritime provinces and much of Southern Ontario.
“Currently, we are seeing a cold front moving through the Great Lakes Space and right now, we’re witnessing a band of rainshowers mixed with some snow towards areas of northeastern Ontario,” Environment Canada meteorologist Daniel Liota said to CTVNews.ca by phone on Tuesday.
Sarnia and Windsor, which are located in the southwestern Ontario border areas, will likely see the highest snowfall in Canada. These communities could see 20-30 cm of snowfall between Wednesday morning – Thursday night, along with winds gusting 50-60 km/h.
“Visibility can be reduced suddenly in heavy snow. Environment Canada warns you that visibility can be reduced while driving.
Toronto is expected to receive between 10 and 20 cm of snow. Environment Canada states that Wednesday morning will bring rain showers to the Greater Toronto Area and southwestern Ontario. After that, snow will be mixed with snow until temperatures drop below 0 C.
Other parts of Ontario, including Ottawa could also experience freezing rain and snowfall on Wednesday morning depending on how cold it is. The capital of the country could see up to 20 cm of snow.
Many of these communities are still reeling after the massive winter storm that dumped 55 cm of snow two week ago. This storm will see only one to three cm of snowfall per hour compared to the storm that saw up to 10cm per hour.
“The last system produced snow amounts that were almost unbelievable in just nine hours. Liota stated that this one will only be light to moderate snow for 24hrs, possibly a bit longer in certain areas.
“This should allow road maintenance crews and snowplows enough time to keep up with it. It won’t be a huge snowfall in one day.
Liota claims that this winter storm is caused by two low-pressure systems moving northeastward from the southern United States.
“There are actually two systems. “So, the first one kinda comes out of Texas and another one kinda follows on its heels,” he explained.
Liota however says that the trajectory of the second low pressure system is still unclear. Depending on how the system moves on Thursday, the Golden Horseshoe or eastern Ontario could see more snow.
He said, “Thursday snowfall forecast remains somewhat uncertain at the moment.”
These systems are expected moving eastward towards Quebec Maritimes. Environment Canada reports that snowfall will be possible in Montreal on Thursday-Friday morning, with a maximum of 15 cm depending on how this low-pressure system moves.
Environment Canada also issues special weather statements for Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. These provinces will be affected by the storm from Thursday night to Friday, but it’s not known how much snow may fall.
These systems are expected to be most severe for the United States. According to the, Midwestern states such as Illinois and Indiana could receive up to 45 cm of snowfall by Friday. U.S. National Weather Service. Meteorologists predict that there will be a corridor containing heavy ice from North Texas to Ohio.