Toronto could get its biggest snowfall of the season Friday amid 'hazardous' Ontario storm

[canada-man]

A storm warning has been issued ahead of another blast of winter weather that could dump up to 25 centimetres of snow in southern Ontario and disrupt weekend travel plans.

Environment Canada initially issued a watch on Thursday morning ahead of a storm that is expected to “bring heavy snow and strong winds,” but later upgraded the advisory to a warning.

According to the weather agency, the snow will begin Friday evening and quickly become heavy. The heavy snow, in combination with strong easterly winds, is expected to create “hazardous” conditions.


Snow is expected to continue falling into Saturday morning, Environment Canada said.

In total, the Texas low is expected to bring 15 to 25 cm of snow to a “large swath of southern Ontario.”

Toronto, York Region, Durham Region, Halton Region, Peel Region, Hamilton, Kingston, Peterborough, and Waterloo are some of the locations affected by the winter storm warning.


According to The Weather Network, this "high-impact winter storm" has the potential to be the biggest snowfall of the season for the Greater Toronto Area.

The first storm of March in southern Ontario will come just days after the region with a blast of winter weather to start the week.

A winter storm dumped up to 10 cm of snow in Toronto on Monday. Heavy blowing snow hammered Toronto and swept through southern Ontario with a messy mix of rain, snow, and ice pellets.

Ontario storm: Toronto weather warnings issued for Friday | CTV News

 

[krealtarron]

How do these winter storms know to rain down precisely on the weekends

 

[onomatopoeia]

How do these winter storms know to rain down precisely on the weekends

In involves interference in Canadian weather attributed to Chinese balloons.

 

[Ponderling]

No surprise on this one.
It has been crawling slowly up our way from down south.
Where it posed a likely source for tornadoes, etc along the way.

So lots of moisture tied up in it.
And when it hits the land of the beaver, of course it has to come down as wet snow.

 

[squeezer]

Now I don't believe the snowstorm is real because CM posted it. I'm going to go outside in my shorts and tank top dammit.

Where are my flip-flops, I can't find my flip-flops.

 

[Darts]

No surprise on this one.
It has been crawling slowly up our way from down south.

Question: Does Buffalo get its snow from the south or north or both?

 

[Phil C. McNasty]

 

[onomatopoeia]

Question: Does Buffalo get its snow from the south or north or both?

Neither. It comes from the west, like most weather. Buffalo gets more precipitation because it's located at the west end of Lake Erie. More moisture evaporates from Lake Erie because it's relatively shallow, so it warms faster than a deep lake.

@ TERB armchair meteorologists: This is the simplified answer, because it's for Darts.

 

[Darts]

Buffalo
"Lake-effect snow is common in the late fall and early winter along the downwind shores of the Great Lakes, which is caused by cold air flowing over the warmer waters of the Great Lakes." Looks like it comes from the north.

This storm is coming from the south and west. Let's see how much snow Buffalo gets this time.

 

[onomatopoeia]

@Darts: There's a lake west of Buffalo, and one north-east, but there isn't one north. Cold air flowing over Lake Ontario seldom has any effect on weather in Buffalo. Wind at our latitude in North America generally blows from west to east, hence the name 'prevailing westerlies'. Air masses form in different areas, but winds move them.

 

[Darts]

The storm to-night is coming from the south and west. Be interesting to see how much, if any, snow falls on Buffalo.

"One look at a map, and you start to understand why Lake Erie -- the lake responsible for generating the Buffalo-area's lake-effect snow -- is such an efficient lake-effect snow producer: Erie's near horizontal orientation acts like a funnel, giving cold air moving across the lake more time to suck up warmer, moist air, and in turn, produce more snow."
Buffalo Lake-Effect Snow: 4 Things to Know | The Weather Channel

 

[onomatopoeia]

The storm to-night is coming from the south and west. Be interesting to see how much, if any, snow falls on Buffalo.

"One look at a map, and you start to understand why Lake Erie -- the lake responsible for generating the Buffalo-area's lake-effect snow -- is such an efficient lake-effect snow producer: Erie's near horizontal orientation acts like a funnel, giving cold air moving across the lake more time to suck up warmer, moist air, and in turn, produce more snow."
Buffalo Lake-Effect Snow: 4 Things to Know | The Weather Channel

Lake Erie is both south and west of Buffalo.



I don't think this winter has been cold enough for most of the lake to have ice on top, as is often the case.

 

[Darts]

I think Buffalo's storm of the century came from the north east. We were spared because we are on the northern side of Lake Ontario.

"With most of the heavy snow bands falling over Lake Ontario, north of metro Buffalo on Saturday afternoon."

To-night's storm is coming from the south (west). This is probably why the snow warning.
Buffalo snow: Historic storm slams western New York with nearly 6 feet of snow | CNN

 

[SchlongConery]

I think Buffalo's storm of the century came from the north east. We were spared because we are on the northern side of Lake Ontario.

"With most of the heavy snow bands falling over Lake Ontario, north of metro Buffalo on Saturday afternoon."

To-night's storm is coming from the south (west). This is probably why the snow warning.
Buffalo snow: Historic storm slams western New York with nearly 6 feet of snow | CNN

The system may be coming from the southwest but the surface winds along the front as well as the surface winds within the system may be different.

If you check out an animated wind flow chart now (or go outside) you will see the surface winds right now are from the north east at 15 knots with gusts to 25 knots. This wind would normally blow wind right along the entire frtch of Lake Ontario and dump snow on Buffalo. But… right now Buffalo seems to have a small low pressure zone directly over Buffalo resulting variable winds from all directions converging on the low.

It’s a bitcomplicated but very interesting if you care to study it. Toronto and area has quite predictable weather patterns once you learn and can recognize them.

 

[Ponderling]

Question: Does Buffalo get its snow from the south or north or both?

Buffalo gets hammered worst when the cold wind is from the west, and picks up moisture and same time it is cooled so falls as snow, as it transits across Lake Erie.
Which often does not freeze over, so becomes a snow generating machine

 

[John Wick]

Wow. Arguing about the weather. Has to be a new low, even for TERB.

 

[Darts]

Long story short. I was just wondering whether there is a chance that some/most/all of the expected 20-30 cm snow could be dumped before it gets to the GTA (hope, hope).

 

[SchlongConery]

Long story short. I was just wondering whether there is a chance that some/most/all of the expected 20-30 cm snow could be dumped before it gets to the GTA (hope, hope).

Doesn’t usually work that way. In this system, it will depend on the temps and direction and width of streamers across Lake Erie.

Check out the animated weather radar and overlay the winds to see the dynamics of it. Fascinating.

I like the MyRadar app

Right now there is an area of convection between Jamestown PA and Buffalo due to the air masses mixing on the surface and upper atmosphere. Winds will swing around in Buffalo soon.

Lots of moisture tracking this way from a deepening low pressure system

 

[Darts]

This will be the storm of the century in the GTA (and pretty much all of southern Ontario).

It is starting now. Go home. If you are home, stay home.

 

[shack]

Wow. Arguing about the weather. Has to be a new low, even for TERB.

But look at all the knowledge you are gaining.