Gary Seven

#ONStorm #ONwx ‼️ EARLY LOOK: Mid-Week Winter Storm Possible for Southern Ontario ❄️ 📅 Wednesday (Feb. 18) - Thursday (Feb. 19) Heads up! We’re keeping an eye on a potential winter storm that could impact parts of Southern Ontario sometime in the middle of next week. This system is still about five days away, so there is plenty of time for changes. That said, we’ve now seen this signal show up consistently across several model runs. When we start to see that kind of trend, it’s worth flagging early, especially when some of the data is suggesting a fairly impactful setup for parts of the region. Right now, this storm has the potential to bring a swath of heavy snow along with a corridor of prolonged freezing rain somewhere across Southern Ontario. That freezing rain threat is something we’ll be watching very closely as it could bring the risk of power outages. Based on current trends, the greatest risk for significant impacts appears to be across Southwestern Ontario, the Golden Horseshoe and parts of Central Ontario. However, this is still far from locked in. A small shift in the track of the system could easily push the heaviest snow or freezing rain farther north or south. That means Eastern Ontario is definitely not off the hook at this point. As for timing, it is still a bit uncertain. At this stage, Wednesday looks like the day that could see the worst of the conditions, with precipitation possibly beginning as early as Tuesday night and lingering into Thursday. It is far too early to talk about exact snowfall totals or ice accretion amounts. We are not at the stage where we can confidently say what any specific city or town will see. For now, the main takeaway is this: - There is the potential for hazardous travel conditions on Wednesday and possibly into Thursday. - There could also be school bus cancellations. Again, that is not a guarantee, but it is something that is on the table given the current setup. - If you have flexible plans mid week, it might be a good idea to keep them adjustable. Avoid locking yourself into anything that would be difficult to change if road conditions become poor. - At the same time, there is absolutely no need to panic or stress. We are still several days out, and a lot can and likely will shift between now and then. As we always say, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. We’ll continue to monitor the latest data closely and will have a more detailed preliminary forecast in the coming days as we start to narrow down who sees what. Stay tuned! - Brennen