A “significant” snowstorm is looking “increasingly likely” for parts of southern and eastern Ontario later this week, Global News meteorologist Anthony Farnell says.
Farnell said while the details still need to be worked out, it looks like the storm will hit on Thursday into Friday.
“Temperatures will be hovering near the freezing point so a rain/snow mix is possible for a time and the snow that does fall will likely be wet and heavy,” he said.
“Winds will also become very gusty reaching speeds up to 70km/h, which may bring down some tree limbs where the snow is heaviest.”
Farnell said the storm will strengthen over the next few days across the U.S. plain states, bringing a severe weather outbreak to the south-central U.S. with the threat of damaging tornadoes.
“At the same time, an unusually strong area of high pressure is anchored over northern Quebec and will ooze colder temperatures into the Great Lakes region this week,” he said.
“The pressure difference between the high and low will also create these strong winds on Thursday.”
Farnell said it’s likely much of the Greater Toronto area will see “at least” 10 cm of snow, with higher amounts of more than 20 cm more likely east of Oshawa, towards Kingston, where snow is expected to linger through much of Friday.
“Both the Thursday afternoon and Friday morning commute will be the most impacted by this storm,” Farnell warned.
Beyond this week, Farnell said a white Christmas is looking “very likely” for Toronto this year with the coldest air of the season so far coming next week and lasting into the holidays.
He said there will also be more chances for snowfall leading up to Christmas Day.