Environment Canada warns of 'significant snowfall' on the way for Thunder Bay area

Break out the shovels and warm up the snowblowers: a major winter storm is headed Thunder Bay's way.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement on Monday night for the City of Thunder Bay, warning of a Colorado low bringing a storm to the region by Wednesday afternoon.

Steven Flisfeder, a meteorologist for Environment Canada, said significant snowfall can be expected between Wednesday and Friday, possibly continuing into Saturday morning.

The snow will lighten up on Wednesday evening before ramping up Thursday morning, when the most intense part of the storm will hit the Thunder Bay area, he said.

"Thunder Bay proper will likely be seeing total snowfall amounts of about 20 to 25 cm. Areas to the south, closer to the Minnesota border, you're likely to see snowfall amounts greater than 25 (cm). In some models, we're seeing up to 50 cm possible," said Flisfeder.

Blowing snow is also possible, with snow and winds gusting up to 60 km/h.

Flisfeder encourages people to refrain from travelling if possible. For those who do need to go out, he cautions them to be patient.

"If you do find yourself having to go out, be prepared to take extra time – so, if something normally takes you 30 minutes to get to, maybe give yourself up to an hour just in case those roads aren't cleared as quickly as they might need to be," he said.

"If you can give yourself a safe distance between the car in front of you as well, that's also encouraged. There's lots of people on the roads this time of year; it's a good idea to take your time, make sure everybody can get to where they're going to."