A large part of southern Ontario, including the Greater Toronto Area, is expected to get hit with significant snowfall on Wednesday afternoon that will bring anywhere from 15 to 40 cm of snow.
Environment Canada has upgraded its weather alert from a special weather statement to either a snowfall warning or a winter storm warning stretching from Toronto to Sarnia, to north of Barrie to North Bay, and east to Ottawa.
According to the snowfall alert for Toronto, it is expected that the snow will begin late afternoon with peak snowfall rates of 2 to 4 cm per hour. The total snowfall expected for Toronto is around 15 cm.
“This snowfall will impact the evening commute. Snow may become mixed with ice pellets late this evening and overnight for some areas,” Environment Canada said. “Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult over some locations.”
The snow is expected to taper off by Thursday morning.
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There is a risk for freezing rain in the Hamilton and Burlington area. Areas towards Ottawa are expected to see up to 40 cm of snow and area in and around Barrie may see between 20 and 30 cm of snow, with a winter storm warning in place in these locations. Snowfall amounts could possibly exceed 5 cm an hour, the weather agency said.
Global News meteorologist Ross Hull said a Texas low is coming for the Great Lakes and southern Ontario, including the Greater Toronto Area, by Wednesday afternoon at around 4 p.m.
However, Hull said there is enough cold air in place by Wednesday afternoon for the system to bring snow, which could be heavy at times. He notes this could have a big impact on the Wednesday evening commute for anyone with travel plans on the road or by air.
“Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve,” Environment Canada said in its weather alert. “There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas.”
This next round of snow comes days after Toronto and parts of southern Ontario got dumped with of up to 20 cm of snow in some areas on Saturday night into Sunday.
As well, Hull said models are showing another potential winter storm emerging from the U.S. this upcoming weekend, which could bring more heavy snow to the area on Saturday into Sunday — making it three storms in one week for southern Ontario.
‘Potentially impactful’ winter storm expected to hit southern Ontario mid-week
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