A winter storm watch has been issued for Toronto and southern Ontario as forecasters predict freezing rain on Sunday with a chance of 15 centimetres of snow in some parts of the province.
"A large-scale winter storm is developing over Texas today and is expected to move north towards southern Ontario," Environment Canada said Saturday in a statement on its website.
"The storm will bring a mixed bag of wintery precipitation Sunday to Monday morning."
Freezing rain is expected to lash southwestern Ontario on Sunday morning and hit the Greater Toronto Area by midday. There is a chance the ice pellets will change over to rain on Sunday afternoon or evening.
The mixed precipitation will create dangerous driving conditions on roads and highways, the national weather service said.
Regions in eastern Ontario, including the Ottawa Valley north to Algonquin Park, will see the precipitation start out as snow late Sunday with freezing rain in the evening. The area could see as much as 15 centimetres of snow by Monday morning.
"There is significant uncertainty as to the track of this winter storm and with the timing of when the freezing rain might change to rain," Environment Canada said.
"If the storm tracks through the lower Great Lakes, the storm will cause a prolonged period of freezing rain and significant amounts of snow to the regions."
Sections of northern Ontario are expected to receive between 20 and 30 centimetres of snow by Monday morning.
Gardiner closure
Meanwhile, the city of Toronto is continuing to tow cars parked on snowy side streets to allow plows to properly clean the roads.
And transportation officials said the westbound lanes of the Gardiner Expressway will be closed between Carlaw Avenue and the Humber River from 1 a.m. Sunday to the noon hour, at the latest, to clear the snow.
Mayor David Miller announced the $20 million plowing project on Friday, which will continue over the next 10 to 14 days.
Miller said crews have had trouble cleaning up from last week's storm as many narrow two-way streets have turned into one-way roads because parked vehicles haven't been moved and have been snowed-in by plows.
Residents are being asked to clean the snow around their cars and move the vehicles off the streets. People will be notified by flyers when their street will be cleaned.
On roads where parking is only allowed on one side, plows will remove snow on the opposite side and then ask residents to move their vehicles to the other side.
If the cars are not moved, they will be towed to a nearby spot and returned to the same area after the streets are cleaned
Residents will not be ticketed or charged for the tow, city officials said.
Click here for a list of the roads that will be affected.
The mayor said his ambitious plan is crucial for public safety, and he said the city needs to act before this weekend's storm and clear the abundance of snow ahead of other major storms this winter.
Miller said the snowed-in vehicles have also affected the accessibility for emergency and waste collection vehicles.
