Mother Nature is having a tantrum across Central Ontario today

Here’s a look at the winter storm conditions for the week of Dec. 29.

Rain, flurries, wind and snow squalls to strike Central Ontario Monday.

Environment Canada pulled no punches when it released Monday’s forecast.

A list of the alerts and what they mean to us is broken down below:

Orange Warning – Snow Squall

• Dangerous snow squalls and blizzard conditions late Monday morning into Tuesday.
• Blizzard conditions with near zero visibility
• Total local amounts of 10 to 25 centimetres of snow

Environment Canada’s break down:

An initial brief, intense snow squall is expected late this morning along a cold front. A quick five centimetres of snow is expected from this snow squall as well as a rapid temperature drop, leading to icy surfaces.

Lake effect snow squalls off Georgian Bay will develop this afternoon. Widespread blowing snow and blizzard conditions will be the primary concern as northwesterly wind gusts of 70 to 90 kilometres per hour are expected into Monday night.

Travel will likely be extremely hazardous, and some routes will likely be impassable. Visibility will likely be suddenly reduced to near zero at times. Road closures are likely. Environment Canada suggests people prepare for extremely dangerous travel conditions and adds all travel and outdoor activities should be avoided.

Yellow Warning – Wind

• Strong winds expected Monday morning with northwesterly wind gusts of 70 to 90 km/h.

Environment Canada’s break down:

The passage of a strong cold front will carry the strong winds well into Monday afternoon, but should ease Tuesday morning.

Areas with significant ice build-up from freezing rain will be most vulnerable.

The national weather agency warns utility outages are possible. Significant disruptions to services and travel are likely.

Significant damage to buildings and/or trees is possible.