The Greater Toronto Area and much of southern Ontario are gearing up for a bout of messy winter weather that will likely include snow and rain just two weeks after a historic snowstorm swept through the region.

Precipitation is expected to start falling late Tuesday night into early Wednesday and will continue into Friday.

According to a winter weather travel advisory issued by Environment Canada Tuesday, the city could see 10 to 20 cm of snow by Thursday night. 

“Rain showers tonight will mix with snow Wednesday morning before switching to all snow Wednesday afternoon. Snow is expected to continue Wednesday night and Thursday before easing Thursday night,” the agency said in its advisory.

“Motorists should expect hazardous winter driving conditions and adjust travel plans accordingly. Poor weather conditions may contribute to transportation delays.”

The TTC warned Tuesday that the Scarborough SRT would not be running on Wednesday because of the inclement weather. It said that “reliable service will be provided by replacement buses” running between Kennedy and McCowan stations, with stops on Midland at Lawrence and Ellesmere.

In a news release Tuesday evening, the city said that its crews “are ready to work non-stop” to deal with the messy weather.

“Preparations and planning have been underway today for the coming storm with operations focused on the safety and movement of residents and emergency vehicles, with salting and plowing of roads, sidewalks and bike lanes,” the city said.

The city said salters will be deployed as soon as the rain changes over to freezing rain, and that plows and salters will be strategically placed across the city.

“Plowing crews will be deployed on major streets and sidewalks as the snow falls and plow hard and fast overnight,” the city said. “Residents are asked, if possible, to move their vehicles from major roadways, especially snow routes, before Wednesday evening to allow salters and plows to safely and efficiently clear the snow.”

Officials are advising drivers to maintain “a safe distance from city crews and equipment” to allow them to safely do their work.

Environment Canada also urged people to use extra caution on the roads because of the weather.

“If visibility is reduced while driving, turn on your lights and maintain a safe following distance,” the agency said in its statement. “Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.”

The latest storm comes about two weeks after a historic snowstorm dumped around 55 cm of snow on the city in a very short span of time.  As of Monday, city crews had removed more than 92,000 tons of snow, an effort necessitated by a nearly unbroken string of days with sub-zero temperatures since the storm.

In the GTA, the city finally saw temperatures above the freezing mark Tuesday, with a high of 2 C. 

That temperature is expected to hold overnight and into Wednesday before dropping to -2 C Wednesday night.

Then on Thursday a high of just -8 C is expected, along with a low of -14 C.  Temperatures are then expected to remain below zero for at least several days.