Snowfall warning posted for Prince County

It looks like western P.E.I. is going to get the worst of a storm forecast to hit the Island Thursday.

Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Prince County. Queens and Kings counties are under a special weather statement.

While the storm bringing the snow is coming Thursday, another system was dropping heavy rain over most of the province Wednesday morning. The remnants of thunderstorms over Nova Scotia could bring some localized heavy rain to P.E.I.

That rain is expected to turn to showers in the afternoon.

"The drive home is not going to be as wet as the drive to wherever you need to get to this morning," said CBC meteorologist Tina Simpkin.

But the oncoming storm will start the rain up again overnight, beginning earlier in the west.

The changeover to snow will also come earlier to Prince County, resulting in about 15 centimetres of snow and that meets snowfall warning criteria. Because the transition comes later in central and eastern P.E.I., only five to 10 centimetres of snow is forecast, and so no snowfall warning is posted in those counties. 

For all of P.E.I., in the transition from rain to snow, there is a risk of freezing rain.

"The problem with this line [between snow and rain] is it is so slow moving it is going to give the chance for freezing rain to accumulate for several hours," said Simpkin.

Once the change to snow happens, it is expected to continue well into the afternoon, with winds blowing out of the northeast at 30 km/h with gusts to 50.