Southern Ontario is waking up to another round of winter weather on Friday as lake-effect snow squalls off Lake Huron and Georgian Bay continue to hammer parts of the region.
The system follows a blustery Thursday that brought bursts of heavy snow and strong winds, creating difficult driving conditions and knocking out power to thousands of Hydro One customers. Crews worked through the night to restore service.
Forecasters say northwest winds gusting between 40 and 60 km/h will persist through Friday morning, whipping up blowing snow and keeping wind chills sharp. Two dominant squall bands are expected to form, each targeting different areas.
One band is forecast to push southeast from Lake Huron, crossing Highway 21 near Goderich and stretching toward Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Stratford, Woodstock and Brantford. Drivers along Highways 401 and 403 should prepare for sudden whiteouts and accumulating snow, with the squall occasionally dipping into Hamilton and Brantford.
“This will be a long-duration event with snow squalls likely persisting into Saturday morning, particularly near Lake Huron. Strong westerly winds gusting to 70 km/h are also expected. These strong winds will reduce visibility to near zero at times in local blowing snow,” Environment Canada said.
As of Thursday morning, some parts of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) were under varying weather alerts, including Burlington and Oakville (special weather statement), Hamilton, Guelph, Halton Hills, Milton, Oshawa, Pickering and Uxbridge (snow squall warnings).
Farther north, a second band off Georgian Bay is expected to track directly into Barrie, Lake Simcoe and along Highway 400 toward the northeast Greater Toronto Area (GTA), including Oshawa. Communities outside the main squall zones will see scattered flurries through the morning. The squalls are expected to weaken and dissipate by Friday evening, though some lingering bursts may persist into early Saturday.
Toronto’s short-term forecast. Here is what to expect
Toronto is expected to avoid the worst of Friday’s squalls, though flurries remain possible.
The city’s three-day forecast calls for mainly cloudy skies Friday with a 40 per cent chance of flurries, northwest winds gusting up to 50 km/h, and a high near zero. Wind chills made it feel closer to -8°C in the morning.
Overnight, conditions will turn partly cloudy with a 30 per cent chance of flurries, a low near -5°C , and wind chills dropping to -12.
Saturday will bring a mix of sun and cloud with a slight chance of morning flurries and a high of plus 1. Snow is expected to return Saturday night as a new system moves in, with temperatures hovering near zero. By Sunday, periods of snow or rain are forecast, with a high of 4°C, before turning colder overnight, with a chance of flurries and a low near -4°C.
Another weekend system
Attention is shifting to the next storm system, a Colorado low projected to sweep into southern Ontario late Saturday and Sunday. The system will spread a more uniform layer of snow across the province, beginning near Windsor on Saturday evening before reaching the GTA overnight and Ottawa by early Sunday.
Communities in the snowbelt regions, already hit hard by Thursday and Friday’s squalls, could see an additional 10 to 15 cm of snow over the weekend.
Environment Canada warns that snowfall totals could reach 50 cm in areas off Georgian Bay and up to 60 cm in northeastern Ontario as the system lingers into Saturday.
“Intense bands of lake effect snow off of Georgian Bay will affect the area today and tonight. These bands are not expected to shift much. Where the bands lock in, very heavy accumulations will be possible,” Canada’s weather agency said.
For most of southern Ontario, widespread totals of 5 to 10 cm are expected, though areas along the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario may see less if snow mixes with rain.
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