The combination of a storm passing by to the north and an arctic front will lead to a widespread area of snow and snow squalls over much of eastern Canada tonight into Saturday.

Travel will be difficult through the period as the winds and cold air will create a blowing and drifting situation for many areas through Saturday, resulting in poor visibility. Whiteout conditions are also likely.

The map below shows the expected snowfall through Saturday night. In general, most areas in Ontario and Quebec will get anywhere from 6 to 12 cm of snow, but some locations downwind of the lakes will get more.

As this system moves east into Atlantic Canada, milder and more moist air will get drawn northward and higher amounts of snow are anticipated over northern New Brunswick. Farther south, it looks more like rain for Nova Scotia.

Behind this storm system, there will be a brief period of lake-effect snow before the next clipper arrives later Sunday with another round of light to moderate snow.

Once this second clipper moves away, it will open the door for another significant blast of bitterly cold air with the potential for significant lake-effect snow early next week to the east and east-southeast of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

-------

Long-range update

I really do not see any significant warm-up across the eastern two-thirds of Canada through the first week of February. However, there are growing signs that the cold may end up shifting to Alaska by the middle of the month and usually when that happens it opens the door to a milder pattern for much of southern Canada and the northern U.S. as Pacific air is allowed to sweep eastward.

---------

Ontario ski trip

Once again, our family was treated to a wonderful weekend of skiing and other activities at Mount St. Louis Moonstone, which is just over an hour north of Toronto on the 400. This family-owned resort is very well maintained and very high tech. The ski school at Mt. St. Louis is tremendous.

My daughter Camryn (5) following her big sister Kaitlin (17) down the ski slope

While I did not bring a measuring stick, it looked like there was about 30-50 cm of snow on the ground outside of the beautiful Carriage Hills Resort, which is where we stayed.

Sunset outside the Carriage Hills Resort in Horseshoe Valley, Ontario

I highly recommend the Carriage Hills Resort, as this is the second year in a row that we have stayed here and it is very easy to get to. The rooms are clean and spacious with a warm fireplace and jacuzzi, which really comes in handy after a day of skiing. There is also a kitchen with two separate bedrooms and baths. There is also a separate area inside the entrance to the rooms where you can put your ski stuff along with a washer and drier. Certainly more than enough room for a large family. The staff was also very friendly and were eager to help.

Here is the link to the resort's gallery.

Report a Typo