10 to 15 centimetres of snow coming, Environment Canada tells Toronto

Think snow, Toronto residents are being told this weekend, with a grand total of10 to 15 centimetres forecast to fallstarting on Sunday afternoon and ending Monday morning.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement for the city on Saturday, saying a blast of winter is coming this week in the form of a snowfall event that will be followed by colder temperatures.

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The statement is not a warning, but a "heads-up," meteorologistSteve Knott said Saturday. He added that the snow could stick around for at least a few days.

And the city is already gearing up for it, with salt brine being applied to hills and bridges.

Time to haul out winter gear

"It's looking like a cold winter's week," he said.

Knott said the federal agency issued the statement to give residents some time to wrap their minds around the idea of real winter and to prepare in earnest for the white stuff.

"It looks like it's going to stay on the ground for the rest of the week because, in behind this system, cooler air is going to be pushing in. We'll have colder temperatures pushing out towards Wednesday or Thursday, maybegetting down towards minus 10 or so."

He said the snowfall event doesn't warrant a warning, which the agency issues when the forecast calls for 15 centimetresof snow over a 12-hour period.

But it is a reminder that it's time to haul out all the winter gear toques, gloves, warm jackets, woolen scarves, winter boots, snowsuits for the children, snow tires for the car, and maybe evenboots for the dog.

In the special weather statement, Environment Canada said a low pressure system from Colorado is expected to make its way towards the Great Lakes this weekend, then sweep over the Golden Horseshoe on Sunday night.

It said it is currently predicting the precipitation will fall primarily as snow, but it is possible that it could change over to rain early Monday, in particular, near the shores of Lake Ontario. The bulk of the snow will fall after 6 p.m. Sunday, Knott said.

The timing of thesnowfall will likely impact Monday morning'scommute, Environment Canada said.

"It doesn't take much to cause accidents in the GTA," he said.

The good news? Winds will not be much of a factor, Knott said. The snowfall will affect visibility but not to the degree that it would if itwas part of a winter storm.

In a series oftweets, the city of Toronto encouraged residents to get ready for the snow.

Meanwhile, Coun. Josh Matlow, who represents Ward 22, St. Paul's, reminded residents in a tweet thatthere is always entertainment when snow falls in the city.