Snowfall warning issued for London calling for messy Wednesday evening commute

London-area commuters should anticipate a messy drive home on Wednesday afternoon and reconsider any evening travel in and out of the city, Environment Canada forecasters say.

An incoming low pressure system from Texas, set to arrive in the region late Wednesday, will bring with it heavy snow, ice pellets, and freezing rain overnight into Thursday across much of southern Ontario.

In the London area, more than 15 centimetres of snowfall is expected as a result of the incoming system, with heavier amounts further north into midwestern Ontario, according to a snowfall warning issued Wednesday morning.

The exact track of the system is unclear, but the snow will likely transition to freezing rain or rain overnight. 

In a statement, Joel Gillard, the city's division manager of road operations, said crews will be actively monitoring conditions and are prepared to deploy equipment as needed for road and sidewalk maintenance.

Londoners can report unplowed or slick conditions through the city's website, which also provides information on road clearance priority.

"If you're travelling toward Lake Erie, for example, you'll probably see more freezing rain or even rain," said Trudy Kidd, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

"Travelling northwards toward, say, Tobermory or Wiarton, you're probably going to see more snow."

Snowfall warnings are also in place for parts of Bruce, Huron, Perth counties, calling for total amounts of between 20 and 40 centimetres, with peak snowfall rates possibly exceeding five centimetres per hour. The warnings cover much of southern Ontario, extending eastward into parts of Quebec.

"If you're out travelling, you want to take it slow. Ideally, postpone your travel or adjust it so that you're travelling during the day on Wednesday, and you're at your destination by late Wednesday afternoon," Kidd said.

She said it's possible the London area could see freezing rain warnings or winter weather travel advisories issued closer to the low pressure system's arrival.

So far, Kidd said this winter was shaping up to be relatively normal with regard to temperatures and snowfall amounts in the London area, based on historical data from 1991 to 2020.

She noted that Environment Canada had been fielding an influx of inquiries about the incoming Texas low, given the large swath of southern Ontario that it's expected to impact.

"We haven't seen a winter storm with this much snow and freezing rain so far this season. We've been getting a lot of low pressure systems with snow, but not these widespread snowfall amounts of this magnitude," she said.