The winter storm that took shape over the Texas panhandle continues to pound its way northeast and it will begin rearing it's ugly head Tuesday evening in the GTA.

It's expected to reach Windsor by about 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon as rain. Then, around 4 o'clock, London can expect wet snow.

In the Greater Toronto Area, mixed precipitation is expected first in Burlington and Oakville around 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. with wet snow falling in Mississauga, and a mix of rain and snow in Toronto.

This storm will have an impact from Windsor to Cornwall and northward into Parry Sound but the greatest impact will be here in the GTA and much depends on the temperature. If it's a little warmer than predicted then this could be more of a rain event but if not, it could mean plenty of the white stuff.

Environment Canada is forecasting about 10 centimetres for the GTA by Wednesday morning, but if it all falls as snow, it will be in the neighbourhood of 15 to 20 centimetres by Wednesday evening.

The Weather Network is forecasting less than 15 centimetres along the lakeshore, and anywhere from 15 to 20 centimetres for the rest of the GTA with an outside possibility of 25 cm.

There are no weather watches or warnings in effect as of 6 a.m. on Tuesday, but we'll keep you updated as the storm approaches.

(files by D. Agar)

Storm knocks out power to thousands in the U.S.

This blizzard bore down on the USA's midsection early Tuesday after lashing the Texas Panhandle with hurricane-force winds, closing highways and cutting power to thousands in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

At least two people were killed in the storm, and Midwesterners still digging out from last
week's deep snowpack braced for more.

Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Sly James declared a state of emergency, an unwanted encore just five days after a major snowstorm dumped nearly a foot of snow on his city. Flights in and out of Kansas City International Airport were cancelled, schools, government offices and businesses across the region were closed and James urged residents to stay home if they could.

Up to 15 inches or more were forecast for parts of western Missouri, with a foot or more in Kansas City alone: ``This one has the potential to be quite serious,'' James said.

The storm knocked power out to thousands of homes in Texas and Oklahoma and was blamed for the death of a 21-year-old man whose SUV hit an icy patch on Interstate 70 in northwestern Kansas and overturned Monday. In Oklahoma, a person was killed after 15 inches of snow brought down part of a roof in the northwest town of Woodward.

In the Texas Panhandle, wind gusts up to 75 mph and heavy snow had made all roads impassable and created whiteout conditions, said Paul Braun, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation. A hurricane-force gust of 75 mph was recorded at the Amarillo, Texas, airport. The city saw the biggest snowfall total in Texas with 17 inches.

 (AP)