It may now be spring, but several parts of the region are bracing for at least one more blast of winter.
Fort Frances, Dryden, Ignace, Atikokan, and other communities in the Northwest will get their first snow storm of the spring startingTuesday.
Environment Canada said its tracking a low-pressure system heading to the Northwest from Southwestern United States.
“That system is going to move steadily north eastwards towards northwestern Ontario with snow likely beginning in the Fort Frances area late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning,“ said warning preparedness meteorologist Geoff Coulson.
“Then that snow is expected to continue through much of the day on Wednesday.”
Coulson said some gusty winds from the east and northeast could potentially accompany the snow.
“It looks like accumulations could be in the range of eight to 15 centimetres for Fort Frances, Dryden, Ignace, and Atikokan. Kenora’s likely to get somewhat lesser amounts.”
Coulson said the storm could impact major and secondary highways all the way from the Manitoba border to Thunder Bay.
“Just a good idea for folks to plan extra time if they are going to be travelling on Wednesday, because we will be dealing with the accumulating snow through much of the area,” he said.
“Those winds initially from the east and northeast could be blowing the snow around later in the day on Wednesday [and] are forecast to shift around and could still cause some poor visibilities in some areas.”
Coulson said after the snow tapers off late Wednesday, much of the Northwest looks like it's getting into a quieter weather pattern, with sunshine in the forecast to finish off the work week and temperatures not far off from the long term normal for this time of year.
Coulson noted it’s the first spring snowfall, but may not be the last.
“Those who have lived in the Northwest know that even April is still a month where we can get a fair amount of snow,” he said.
