Snow squall watch issued for northern parts of GTA

A snow squall watch has been issued for the northern reaches of the GTA with warnings in effect for areas further north of the city.

The watch is in place for northern York and northern Durham regions, including Newmarket, Georgina, Uxbridge and Innisfil, with the peak snow expected Monday night into Tuesday morning.

“The first significant lake effect snow squalls of the season are forecast beginning late tonight,” reads the alert from Environment Canada. “Strong westerly winds followed by northwesterly winds will accompany these snow squalls resulting in significantly reduced visibility at times in heavy snow and blowing snow.”

The weather agency says 10 to 30 centimetres of snow is possible with snowfall of up to five centimetres per hour at times.

Environment Canada is advising motorists in the impacted areas to consider postponing non-essential travel, saying visibility could be reduced suddenly.

“Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow,” the alert reads.

A warning for more intense snow squalls remains in effect for areas north of the GTA, including Barrie, Orillia, Simcoe County, and Muskoka. Snow accumulation of up to 20 to 35 centimetres is expected, with high amounts possible in isolated areas.

“Squalls could be very intense for areas near Lake Huron and Georgian Bay,” says CityNews 680 meteorologist Jill Taylor, adding it will be “a cold, windy day” in the GTA.

Toronto will see mainly cloudy skies on Monday with some sunny breaks and a chance of flurries. The high of 3 C was reached in the early morning and the temperature is expected to dip to -1 C in the afternoon, feeling more like -9 with the windchill.

Daytime highs will hover around 0 C on Tuesday and Wednesday before seasonal highs return at the end of the week.

For current conditions in Toronto and the extended forecast, click here.