The Greater Toronto Area has been mostly spared from the realities of winter this season, though a one-two punch of snow threatens to make for a miserable time in the coming days.

Toronto's 'winter that wasn't' came crashing to a halt this week when arctic temperatures finally brought the city its first bout of mid-negative single-digit temps for the season. Parkas are already out of storage, and it looks like the boots will follow this weekend as the city gets ready for the first potential accumulation of the white stuff.

A system described by The Weather Network as a "sneaky" snow squall is forecast to bring heavy bands of precipitation to the City of Toronto this weekend, with an estimated 3-5 cm of snow possible into Sunday.

"A strong storm passing through the U.S. will bring just enough moisture and a favourable wind direction for lake-effect snow to develop over Lake Ontario this weekend," according to The Weather Network.

Locals can expect the first bands of snowfall to appear as early as Saturday and extend through Sunday, though experts remain uncertain precisely what part of the region the storm will zero in on.

The band of snow meteorologists are tracking has been described as "very narrow," though forecasts stress that wherever this band lands at, locally heavy snowfall is in the cards.

Much of the city will be spared from this weekend blast, though pockets are expected to see up to 5 cm of snow arrive by Sunday morning, creating potential slowdowns on local highways.

That weekend snowfall could prove just a prelude for a Texas low set to smash into the region next week, bringing the potential for what meteorologists concerningly describe as "heavy snowfall and winter travel woes."

Meteorologists warn that this system — affecting parts of Ontario and Quebec — will be the first major storm of 2024 for either province.

The Weather Network says that it's still too early to make a call on just how much of an impact this system could have locally, "Tuesday and Wednesday will be the days to watch."

So, dust off those winter boots from last year and get ready for salty, slushy, chaos, because it looks like some nasty weather has squared up Toronto in its sights.