Winter storm to hit Hamilton, Niagara as holiday weekend begins

Environment Canada is forecasting a "significant winter storm" in Hamilton and surrounding areas, starting Thursday evening and carrying into the holiday weekend. 

The storm is expected to begin as rain or snow late Thursday evening, turning to rain early Friday, when temperatures are "expected to plummet." 

Toronto, Burlington, Brantford and the Niagara region all have similar alerts from the agency. 

"I'm nervous about this storm because I know that everybody wants to travel, especially this time of year," said Gerald Cheng, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada. 

Friday is expected to bring the coldest temperatures seen this season, which might lead to a flash freeze, the weather agency says. 

"I can't stress enough that being prepared is the key this week, and if you can run those errands early in the week, that will be much better," Cheng said.

Later into Friday, Environment Canada expects "strong to potentially damaging winds" along with heavy snow, and warns that blizzard conditions may happen in "areas downwind of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay." 

Over the holiday weekend, there may be a "multi-day lake snow effect" east of the Great Lakes, including Hamilton. 

Environment Canada asks travellers to consider changing plans around the holiday weekend, as road conditions may become dangerous, and to prepare for possible power and utility outages across southern Ontario.

The city of Hamilton issues cold alerts when the temperature drops or is expected to drop below -15 C, or feels like -20 C. When a cold alert is issued, a number of recreation centres and library branches serve as "warm places," during regular customer service hours. The Hub, at 78 Vine Street, extends its hours during a cold alert and is open as a warming centre from 10 p.m. until 10 a.m.