THUNDER BAY — An Environment Canada meteorologist says an incoming weather system will not only bring a good amount of snow to the region, but possibly ice pellets as well for some areas.
The weather office upgraded an existing special weather statement that covered much of the Northwest to a snowfall warning on Thursday for Thunder Bay and points west. The warning states affected areas are expected to see anywhere from 15 to 25 centimetres, with lesser amounts closer to the Minnesota border.
However, the warning states, those areas are looking to be more susceptible to ice pellets and freezing rain.
Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said “this could be a bit of a messy system.”
“In addition to that, winds will start to pick up from the east on Friday and there could be some local blowing snow as the system moves through,” Coulson continued.
Many areas to the east of Thunder Bay were still under a special weather statement and a winter travel advisory as of Thursday afternoon.
The system is expected to be slow moving, Coulson said. The weather office’s snowfall warnings said snow will start Thursday evening near the Manitoba border and overnight for areas closer to Lake Superior. It is expected to last at least into Friday night.
“This one has got a good moisture feed coming into it,” Coulson said. “In more rapidly moving systems that we sometimes get coming from the prairies — Alberta Clippers as they're called — they don't tend to give as much snowfall amounts because they move at a more rapid pace.”
“But this system, again moving somewhat more slowly, and leaving unfortunately a swath of Northwestern Ontario and the North Shore in that favoured snow area for a number of hours.”
-With files from Sheri Leviski-Kotyk
