Parts of the Prairies will be hit with snow while heavy rain and strong winds will wallop all of Ontario later today, possibly leading to power failures and fallen trees, Environment Canada says.
There is a snowfall warning in effect for southeastern Saskatchewan, which will see up to 15 centimetres.
Rain in western Manitoba will convert to snow overnight, with up to 25 centimetres expected to fall.
Meteorologist Geoff Coulson says downpours of rain will engulf all of Ontario and winds of between 50 to 80 kilometres per hour will hit the southwestern and central parts of the province.
“Even with the wind gusts of 80 kilometres an hour, we could see some tree branches coming down, we could see some local power failures due to these strong winds,” he said.
The cold front was over southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan and northern Minnesota around 3 p.m.
Coulson said strong winds should reach the Windsor, Ont., area of southwestern Ontario first, and then move north to Toronto by about 5:30 p.m.
“The combination of both rain and wind will reduce visibilities during the evening rush hour in Toronto,” he said. “Even after the worst of the rain moves through, the gusty winds will remain.”
There will be high waves on the Great Lakes, especially Lake Superior, he said.
Only a total of about 10-20 millimetres of rain is expected in southern Ontario, but it will fall in a short amount of time.
Northwestern Ontario will get much more rain, with about 50 millimetres. Rain in the region should last until Wednesday.
Environment Canada had issued a tornado watch for the Windsor, Ont., and Chatham, Ont., areas, but Coulson said it would be cancelled because conditions are changing.
He said the worst of the storms will stay south of the border, near Ohio, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.