A major winter storm system is bearing down on the eastern portion of Newfoundland, with heavy snowfall and winds exceeding 100 km/h.

Meteorologist with the Gander Weather Office, Justin Boudreau says the first flakes are expected to fly early tomorrow morning and intensifying over the morning rush hour in many areas of the east coast.

He says the Avalon will get what he’s calling a “winter club sandwich” of snow, ice pellets, rain and back to snow.

Winds could gust as high as 110 to 120 km/h, causing reduced visibility when the snow flies.

Accumulations will vary depending on the region.

He expects 20 to 40 cms in some areas, with as much as 50 cm in the Clarenville region.

In St. John’s it’s a 10-15 scenario…with 10-15 cm of snow, followed by another 10-15 mm of ice pellets, about 10 mm of rain and another and another 10 cm of snow, as the system wraps around on the back end.

The system is not expected to move off until tomorrow evening.

Meanwhile, the City of St. John’s says it is prepared for the storm, adding that winter operations are in full-effect.

Lynnann Winsor, Deputy City Manager for Public Works, says crews are ready for whatever weather may come.

She says staff are professional, explaining that many are even excited for “their time to shine.”

Winsor reminds the public that garbage collection is currently planned to go ahead as scheduled, but encourages residents to register for the city’s mobile app, in order to receive email and text notifications as updates become available during the weather event.