First in a parade of storms set to spring into Ontario and Quebec
In typical spring fashion, Central Canada will experience pretty much everything the season has to offer in the span of a week or so.
The first of three different systems will move into the region Wednesday, bringing rain, snow, and even freezing rain and thunderstorms to different sections of Ontario and Quebec over the next seven days. We will even throw in warmth, gusty winds, slippery roads and the potential for localized flooding due to snowmelt.
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The initial system
The system arrives Wednesday into Thursday.
Northern Ontario can expect to see between 5-20 cm of snow, which begins to fall Tuesday overnight and will continue moving eastward across the north throughout Wednesday. A wet rain-snow mix is likely along the shores of Lake Superior Wednesday afternoon.
A brief period of freezing rain is likely in the Ottawa Valley and St. Lawrence River Wednesday overnight into early Thursday morning, then changing to rain.
Motorists will need to brace for slippery roads for the morning commute.
Across southern Ontario, this will be widespread rain beginning Wednesday evening, then spreading eastward through the day Thursday.
Generally, between 10-15 mm of rain is expected across much of southern Ontario and Quebec, but up to 20 mm is likely from London to Windsor, Ont. There is even the potential of a weak thunderstorm to develop.
Temperatures will reach the double digits across southern Ontario in the warm sector of the low, with some daytime highs reaching into the mid-teens on Thursday in the extreme southwest. Montreal will reach as high as 5°C, which would be slightly above seasonal on Thursday.
The relative warmth and rain are expected to extend as far north as Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury, Ont., by Thursday morning.
Stay tuned to The Weather Network as we continue to update this week's forecast for Ontario.
