THUNDER BAY -- If lots of fresh snow was on your Christmas wish list, you may just get what you want.
If a smooth ride to Boxing Day sales is more suited to your expectations, than be prepared for disappointment.
“People are probably going to have to limit their travel on Christmas Day and Boxing Day,” said Jeff Coulson, an Environment Canada warning preparedness meteorologist.
“We are watching right now a number of the computer models talking about a massive system coming out of Colorado that’s going to produce a lot of snow for Northwestern and Northern Ontario.”
Right now Thunder Bay is seeing the calm before this potential storm with daytime highs of -1 C at a time when daytime highs are typically near -7 C.
As of Thursday morning, Environment Canada continued to predict just 60 per cent chance of snow for Christmas day with no estimated amounts. That forecast could change as the Colorado storm is tracked.
“The start time (of the storm) is a little uncertain at this point,” Coulson said. “Some of the models are indicating that snow from the storm could start spreading into the Thunder Bay area on the afternoon of Christmas Day.”
If those projections don’t change, the area could start to see heavy snow in the evening of Christmas Day and overnight into Boxing Day morning.
“This could be quite a significant storm,” he said. “We could be seeing large accumulations, 30-to-40 centimetres of snow in some areas, and strong winds.”
Coulson suggests people in this area should “be where they need to be” by Christmas Day and plan on staying there for awhile.
Cold air and wind will follow the storm, but Coulson said it is likely that seasonal temperatures will return around Dec. 27.
