Another snowstorm, like the one that struck the city Sunday night, might have Thunder Bay in its crosshairs.
Up to 32 centimetres of snow was dumped on the region Sunday night into Monday morning.
But city crews and residents who dug their way out of that storm’s aftermath may have little time to rest as another snow filled weather system is expected to touchdown on Wednesday.
Geoff Coulson, spokesman for Environment Canada, said that a storm is forming in the US and appears to be headed for the Thunder Bay area.
While it’s a little too early to tell how much snow the city is going to get, he said a storm system is working its way south of Lake Superior through northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
A slight change could bring that system toward Thunder Bay and the snow with it.
“This one will bear some watching,” Coulson said.
“In an average winter we do see a number of these storms systems coming out of Colorado in the American southwest. Each system does have a unique characteristic. Some may have more moisture and the tracks can vary somewhat. Some of them can definitely pack a punch if they have a good moisture feed and if they slowdown in the Great Lakes area.”
He added that people should check the weather office website for regular updates.
Coulson said the last time the city got a major snowfall was in December with the most being about 10 centimetres.
Residents who spoke with tbnewswatch.com agreed that another major snowfall wasn’t something they had wished for.
Hyosil Hwang came from South Korea to Canada about 10 years ago and said she’s never seen so much snow before.
It took her and her husband about an hour to shovel their driveway, and she said she wasn’t looking forward to another dump of snow this week.
“Usually in Korea we don’t have this much snow,” Hwang said.
“It’s so cold and there’s so much snow. Wednesday means more shoveling. I’m not happy, not happy at all. I don’t like too much snow.
“When I phone home I tell my family that we got this much snow and they have no idea because they have never had that much snow.”
Hwang added that they don’t do many outdoor activities now but may take up a few sports once their two-year-old-daughters get a bit older.
Meanwhile, Chad Matkowski said the recent snowfall was a pain for his family but that they were handling the situation.
He said until Sunday night, the city had been a little spoiled with the amount of snow it has had to deal with.
“We got it pretty good last night,” Matkowski said.
“There’s not much to say about another snowfall but ‘bring it on’ I guess.”
Brad Adams, city manager of roads division, said the recent snowfall hasn’t made much of an impact on the snow removal budget and added he expected the same for the snowfall on Wednesday.
“It’s a new calendar year so we have a new budget,” Adams said. “We`ll have to see where the rest of the winter has for us plus November and December of this year then we`ll have a better idea what will happen to the budget. Right now things are pretty good.”
Adams said they haven’t had to do many snow removals but have had to do smaller maintenance such as salting.
Follow Jeff Labine on Twitter @Labine_reporter
