Overnight snowfall blankets Toronto, GTA with up to 5 cm

Toronto and the GTA woke up to a fresh blanket of snow Tuesday morning, with 3 to 5 centimetres of accumulation.

The overnight system left roads and sidewalks coated as commuters began the week.

The snowfall capped off a chilly night, with temperatures dipping to -4°C and wind chills near -11. By Tuesday afternoon, skies are expected to clear slightly, though lingering flurries are still possible.

For Wednesday, gusty southwest winds return between 30-50 km/h giving afternoon wind chills near -7. By Wednesday evening, a light round of snow showers could make things slick on the roads especially for the north GTA up to cottage country. Visibility could be significantly reduced to the north due to heavier snowfall for places like Mount Forest, Orangeville, Barrie and Newmarket.

Toronto’s daytime high will be 0°C on Wednesday, and -4°C on Thursday. But morning wind chills will be in the minus double digits both days.

Meanwhile, Friday morning’s wind chill is expected to be the coldest of the season.

Torontonians will find a wake-up wind chill between -12 and -15 but further north places like Shelburne and Barrie will have morning wind chills between -18 to -21 resulting in a moderate risk of frostbite and a risk of hypothermia.

The system that brought the light blanket of snowfall for Toronto on Monday night is ramping up into a power Nor’Easter for Atlantic Canada.

Snow, rain, blowing snow and strong winds are likely to impact travel now through Wednesday. Rainfall amounts near 50 mm, snowfall amounts near 20-40 cm and wind gusts up to 100 km/h are expected across the region.

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