Snow, freezing rain usher in warmer temperatures for Ontario, Quebec

Warmer weather is on the way for most of southern Ontario and Quebec this week, but before those relatively balmy temperatures can be enjoyed, motorists will be contending with a messy Monday commute due to the snow, ice pellets and freezing rain from an approaching weather system.

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Both the mixed weather and the warmer temperatures are courtesy of a Colorado Low that is moving across the Great Lakes starting tonight. The warm front from this system will push snow, followed by ice pellets and freezing rain, and then rain across southern Ontario and then Quebec over the next two days.

Like a locomotive pulling railway cars, the snow will move into southwestern Ontario tonight, pulling behind it a band of ice pellets and freezing rain, followed by a wide area of warmer temperatures and rain. The snow will start in Windsor and Sarnia early this evening. As it reaches the GTA around midnight, the ice pellets and freezing rain will start in Windsor. By morning, the snow will reach Ottawa and Montreal, the ice pellets and freezing rain will reach Toronto and it will be rainy and warm in Windsor and Sarnia.

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Two centimeters of snow are expected before the switch-over to ice pellets and freezing rain. This mix will likely mean a slow, messy commute for those in southern Ontario making their way to work on Monday morning, and the same in eastern Ontario and Quebec in the evening.

The rain and warmer weather following along behind the mess are expected to last until Wednesday, with temperatures rising into the teens across southern Ontario and Quebec, and the rain likely washing away the accumulated snow. The cold front from this Colorado Low is expected to bring more, though, starting Wednesday night and Thursday, so enjoy the warm weather while it lasts.

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