For those Sudburians pondering taking off their winter tires, you might want to think again.
Greater Sudbury is under a winter storm warning, and the next three days are forecast to bring about 15 centimetres of snow.
It all starts near midnight tonight, with an expected snow fall of two to four centimetres, according to Environment Canada. By evening on Friday, the snow cover is expected to reach 10 centimetres and will continue to pile up through the weekend.
David Phillips, senior climatologist at Environment Canada, said Sudburians need not worry much about a cold front. Over the next four days, temperatures in the city are expected to hover around the freezing point, ranging from -5 C to 5 C.
While today's sub-zero temperatures have put a bit of a damper on spring for now, the -7 C this afternoon is far better than the coldest April day on record, said Phillips. On April 3, 1954, the mercury fell to -21.1 C.
On average, the coldest Sudbury April on record was in 1987, with a -0.1 C average.
However, it isn't the temperature people should worry about, Phillips said
What folks should worry about, Phillips said — it's the high winds.
“Sudbury should expect a gusting wind of 40 to 60 km/h,” he said. “This will create blowing snow, thereby causing visibility problems.”
Phillips said the snow front set to hit Ontario started much more severely across the border in Colorado. Residents of the Rocky Mountain state experienced cancelled flights, closed schools and inaccessible roads.
Northern Ontario will be spared the brunt of the storm, unlike central and southwestern Ontario. Those regions will receive both snow storms and freezing rain, Phillips said.
Snow fall in spring should not be seen as abnormal, especially at the beginning of the season, he said.
Sudburians should expect full spring weather toward the end of April.
“This coming storm may be the winter's last hurrah.”
