TORONTO — Five different provinces are about to get hit with a multi-day winter storm this week, with some areas expected to see up to 30 centimetres of snow.
Environment Canada has issued winter storm alerts for much of Southern Ontario, Southern Quebec and the three Maritime provinces.
"Currently, we’re seeing a cold front moving across the Great Lakes space and right now, what we’re seeing is a band of rain showers mixed with some snow out towards areas of northeastern Ontario," Environment Canada meteorologist Daniel Liota told CTVNews.ca over the phone on Tuesday.
The southwestern Ontario border cities of Sarnia and Windsor and their surrounding areas are expected to see the most snowfall in Canada. These communities could be hit with 20 to 30 cm of snow between Wednesday morning and Thursday night along with winds gusting 50 to 60 km/h.
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"Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. If visibility is reduced while driving, turn on your lights and maintain a safe following distance," Environment Canada warns.
Around 10 to 20 cm of snow is expected to fall in Toronto. In the Greater Toronto Area and southwestern Ontario, Environment Canada says Wednesday morning will first see rain showers mixed with snow before switching to all snow as temperatures fall below 0 C in the afternoon.
Other parts of Ontario, including Ottawa, could also see freezing rain on Wednesday morning in addition to snowfall, depending on how cold it gets. Up to 20 cm of snow is expected in the nation’s capital.
Many of these communities are still reeling from the massive winter storm that dropped up to 55 cm of snow two weeks ago. But while that storm saw up to 10 cm of snowfall per hour, this one will only see around one to three.
"The last system was just like immense amounts of snow in a matter of nine hours or so. This one is just going to be really light to moderate snow for 24 hours, perhaps a bit longer in some areas," Liota said.
"That should give enough time for road maintenance crews and plows to keep up with this. It’s not going to be a big deluge of snow coming down on one day."
Liota says this winter storm stems from two low-pressure systems from the southern United States moving northeastward.
"There’s actually a pair of systems. So, the first one kind of comes out of the Texas area another one kind of follows hot on its heels," he explained.
However, xjmtzywLiota says the trajectory of the second low-pressure system remains unclear. Depending on how the system moves, the Golden Horseshoe and eastern Ontario could see even more snow on Thursday.
"Thursday snowfall forecast is still fairly uncertain at this time," he said.
These systems are expected to move eastward towards Quebec and the Maritimes. Environment Canada says snowfall is expected on Thursday through Friday morning in Montreal "potentially" reaching 15 cm, depending on how that low-pressure system moves.
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are also under special weather statements from Environment Canada. These provinces are expected to be hit with the storm on Thursday night through Friday, although there’s still no word on how much snow could fall in these parts.
The U.S. is expected to bear the brunt of these systems. Midwestern states like Illinois and Indiana could see up to 45 cm of snowfall by Friday, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. Meteorologists are also forecasting a corridor of heavy ice stretching from north Texas to Ohio.
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People make their way along the Rideau Canal Pathway amid heavy snow and driving wind in Ottawa, on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
