Freezing rain, snow could impact Wednesday's commute in Ontario
Digital Reporter
Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 7:27 PM -
Environment Canada issued a special weather statement early Tuesday warning of the potential for more wintery weather.
"A low pressure system is set to arrive from the U.S. central plains on Wednesday," says EC in the statement. "This system has the potential to bring a wide swath of freezing rain Wednesday morning extending from Lake Huron east to the Golden Horseshoe and central Ontario."
This next system has the potential to impact the morning commute, especially where untreated road surfaces may become slippery.
The good news?
"Milder temperatures means a transition over to rain for much of southern Ontario, while snow remains farther north," adds Weather Network meteorologist Brett Soderholm.
GEM model is showing some freezing rain with the Wed storm. Doesn’t look like a huge amt and may stay just north of the GTA.
— Mark Robinson (@StormhunterTWN) March 17, 2014
Regions located east of Georgian Bay to the Quebec border will see more of a wintery mix of snow, ice pellets and freezing rain through the day on Wednesday, EC warns. Up to 10 cm of snow is possible in the hardest hit areas.
"For areas east of Lake Huron, especially in the Huron-Perth and Grey Bruce regions, rain will change to snow Wednesday night and brisk northwest winds gusting to 60 km/h could produce local blowing snow and low visibilities," says EC.
As a result, motorists are urged to leave plenty of extra time and adjust travel plans as necessary.
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This latest wintery blast comes after record cold temperatures were recorded across parts of southern Ontario on Monday.
In fact, in several communities, Monday's frigid temperatures broke records dating back to the 1970s.
"Light flurries were also reported in some places while northwestern Ontario (i.e Thunder Bay) saw precursory light snow in advance of the approaching system," Soderholm says.
This is just another episode in a winter that has worn out its welcome across the province.
In Toronto, for example, Tuesday marks the 100th consecutive day of at least 1 cm of snow on the ground, even after last week's above-zero weather.
That has shattered the previous record of 81 days set in the winter of 1977-1978.
BUT SPRING *IS* COMING, RIGHT? Check out The Weather Network's 2014 Spring Outlook for what the coming season will look like.
