Snow squall warning issued with up to 60cms of snowfall possible

Winter wallop kicks off first week of 2025 Mother Nature provided a winter wallop to kick off the start of the new year, with up to 60cms of snowfall in some areas.

Thursday’s forecast: grab a hot drink and get under a warn blanket.

Welcome to the new year and the arrival of snow.

Environment Canada is calling for heavy snowfall accumulation up to 60 centimetres, but the exact amounts for each area are difficult to predict.

"That's always the threat with lake-effect snow," said senior climatologist Dave Phillips. "So, you know, you either get more than you thought or far less than you thought. But, it's not going to miss us."

We can expect flurries with snow squalls and local blowing snow across central Ontario until Friday morning.

Winds will gust to 60 kilometres per hour but the temperature will stay steady near -1C. Wind chill will feel like -9C.

The national weather agency recommends postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said police attended several collisions, with Highways 400 and 11 shut down intermittently, due to the weather. "Visibility goes to zero in a very short time," he added about road conditions.

Snow Squall Warning

Having already had their share of winter, Muskoka is not expected to receive more than 10 centimetres of snow Thursday to Friday.

The highest snow accumulations are expected to be in areas near Georgian Bay extending south to Gravenhurst.

Travel could be treacherous with blowing snow.

In Barrie, road crews are at the ready.

"We’ll be patrolling the roads. We have a number of cameras, about 24 cameras across the city that we watch as the snow comes in so we know where to deploy our resources," noted Craig Morton, the city's senior manager of operations (roads and fleet).

Weather Advisory