Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain?

The good news is that all those snow warnings we were telling you about on Christmas Eve have now been cancelled.

The Sault looks like a regular Currier & Ives lithograph this Christmas morning, with a fresh blanket of overnight snow and the City sanding crews out doing their much-appreciated work.

But the forecast is a little messy.

Environment Canada is warning things are about to warm up and we might actually get rain on Saturday in the Ontario Sault.

The U.S. National Weather Service is predicting a soggy mix of snow and freezing drizzle on Boxing Day afternoon in the Michigan Soo, possibly followed by more rain and/or snow on Saturday. The snow melt might even lead to some minor flooding there on Saturday.

Meanwhile, things could get very messy further south.

Environment Canada issued the following weather statement today:

************************* 25 December 2008.

Special weather statement issued for:

City of Toronto Windsor - Essex - Chatham-Kent Sarnia - Lambton Elgin London - Middlesex Simcoe - Delhi - Norfolk Dunnville - Caledonia - Haldimand Oxford - Brant Niagara City of Hamilton Halton - Peel York - Durham Huron - Perth Waterloo - Wellington Dufferin - Innisfil Grey - Bruce Barrie - Orillia - Midland Belleville - Quinte - Northumberland Kingston - Prince Edward Peterborough - Kawartha Lakes Stirling - Tweed - South Frontenac Bancroft - Bon Echo Park Brockville - Leeds and Grenville City of Ottawa Gatineau Prescott and Russell Cornwall - Morrisburg Smiths Falls - Lanark - Sharbot Lake Parry Sound - Muskoka Haliburton Renfrew - Pembroke - Barry's Bay Algonquin Burk's Falls - Bayfield Inlet.

Significant rain possible late Friday night to Sunday morning.

Another storm brewing in Wyoming has the potential to bring significant rain over southern Ontario.

Rain is expected to begin late Friday night across southwestern Ontario before spreading through all of southern Ontario through the day on Saturday.

Current indications show that the rain is expected to taper off by Sunday morning.

Moderate southwesterly winds ahead of the storm will push warmer air northward and increase temperatures above the freezing mark for western sections on Friday and certainly all of southern Ontario on Saturday.

The rate of the melting snow caused by the higher temperatures is expected to accelerate since a prolonged rain event is forecast to occur through the day on Saturday and may last into Sunday morning.

Many regions across southern Ontario may see total rainfall amounts of near 20 millimetres, with possibly higher local amounts of 30 to 50 millimetres.

There are still uncertainties regarding the exact locations of these higher amounts.

Drainage may be an issue since the ground is still frozen and there will be runoff from the melting snow which will be enhanced by the significant amounts of rain expected to fall on the sodden snowpack.

A rainfall warning may be required later as the track and intensity of this developing storm become more certain.

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