Friday Into Saturday Snow Storm Could Last Up To 36 Hours
Posted March 6, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s winter in the GTA and you might have thought the worst of the season would come your way earlier rather than later. But like most things in this topsy-turvy year, you’d be wrong. A winter storm watch is out for Toronto and a wide section of southern and eastern Ontario, as a massive storm from Texas gets ready to move in and stay for a very unwelcome visit.
The cold and creaking guest will arrive Friday afternoon and by the time he’s gone, you may not be able to move. It could be among the worst snowstorms of the year, which is really saying something considering what we’ve already been through.
If the storm tracks the way it appears right now, Toronto could be blasted by 10-20 centimetres of snow, with the possibility of up to 26 centimetres in a weather event that could last more than 24 hours.
It comes just two days after another big blow crippled the morning rush. But this one has a different clock on it. The earliest part of the storm should wind up smashing into the city just as the Friday afternoon rush hour is under way in earnest, making a mess of the drive home.
We could see 5cm late into the night, but the worst will come on the weekend, when two snow waves hit Saturday morning and afternoon.
Here’s the timeline:
Friday, 4pm-10pm: 3-5cm
Saturday, 4am-1pm: 3-7cm
Saturday, 1pm-11pm: 5-10cm
The only way we won’t get quite so much: if a high pressure system rushes in and keeps the totals lower. But most forecasters don’t think that’s likely. Which means the worst, quite literally, is yet to come. But at least it will happen on the weekend, when most don’t have to go to work. It’s a blessing in disguise for a season that’s been all too short on them.
But if you’re travelling for March Break, beware: getting there won’t be half the fun.
And believe it or not, we may be getting off easy. Niagara and Eastern Ontario could be shovelling out from 30cm or more by the time it all ends Saturday night in what Environment Canada claims has the potential to be “one of the biggest snow makers of the winter.”
To add to the misery, the wind will pick up towards the end of the storm, blowing all those flakes around and creating whiteouts in spots.
It’s just the latest big blow to a city that was winter weary before the season even began, after snow first started falling back in November. And this one could be a record breaker. The all-time snowfall for March 8th came back in 1980, when 17.8cm hit the ground.
And after a difficult and impossible winter, this won’t surprise you: there’s more snow in the forecast for the early part of next week, with another period of flakes expected on Tuesday.
The good news is there’s more precipitation in the long range outlook for next Thursday. How can that be good news? This time, it appears that temperatures will stay well above freezing, and whatever comes down will fall as rain.