A huge winter storm is expected to descend across parts of Ontario and Quebec later on Wednesday and quickly spread across Atlantic Canada over the next two days, prompting Environment Canada to issue a flurry of weather warnings.

A "highly impactful winter storm" packing up to 40 centimetres of snow is expected to hit Ottawa and Gatineau on Wednesday evening, according to Environment Canada.

A significant weather system mid-week could bring more snow, possibly mixed with rain, to southern Ontario just days after the area got dumped with snow.

Two major winter storms are expected to hit the Midwest this week, with moderate to heavy snowfall in the Chicago area. Between the two storms, residents could see a total of a foot of snow from