Snow squalls and blizzards to descend on parts of Ontario, Environment Canada warns

Environment Canada is warning that snow squalls and blizzards in places north and west of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) could make travel “nearly impossible” at times in the next couple of days.

The weather agency has issued snow squall warnings spanning much of Ontario’s cottage country, including Orangeville, Orillia, Barrie, Owen Sound, Huntsville and Parry Sound, along with Bruce Peninsula and Grey County.

The warnings say some areas may see peak snowfall rates of five to 10 centimetres per hour, and some places could see an accumulation of up to 80 centimetres by Friday.

The agency says lake effect snow squalls have developed off Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, and strong winds gusting up to 70 kilometres per hour are expected to accompany the snow squalls on Thursday morning.

It says heavy snow and blowing snow could lead to poor or zero visibility at times.

The agency says travel under the heaviest snow squalls is expected to be “difficult to nearly impossible” during intense snowfall, and advises those travelling to make emergency preparations.

Wind chill returns to GTA

After a couple of mild days in Toronto and the GTA, frigid temperatures returned to the region overnight with wind chill values in the mid-teens.

The forecast on Thursday calls for cold and blustery conditions with wind gusts up to 60 km/h, making the expected daytime high of -4 C feel more like -14 C. Some scattered flurries are also possible for some areas, along with some sunny breaks.

A chance of flurries continues through the evening but the frigid temperatures will continue overnight as the wind chill hovers around -16.

Friday is expected to be mainly sunny with a high of -2 C and less frigid temperatures are anticipated for Saturday with a high of 2 C. There is the potential for snow-rain mix on Sunday but that is dependent on the temperature, which for right now, is around 4 C.

Winter officially arrives at 4:21 a.m. ET on Dec. 21.