Parts of southern Ontario bracing for potential snowfall

A snow plow can be seen clearing a road. (CTV Kitchener)

Snow squall watches and warnings are in place as a large swath of southern Ontario could receive a dose of winter weather.

A yellow snow squall watch is in place for the Brant County and Norfolk County areas, including the city of Brantford. Environment Canada said 10 to 30 cm of snow is possible and visibility may be reduced to near zero as the winds kick up. The flakes are expected to start falling in earnest on Thursday night and continue into Friday.

Meanwhile, just a little further north, Waterloo Region, North Dumfries and southern Wellington County are under a yellow snow squall warning. Fifteen to 30 cm of snow is possible with strong winds gusting up to 70 km/h. Snow had already started to fall on Thursday afternoon and could continue into Saturday.

“Lake effect snow off of Lake Huron is expected to intensify today. The lake effect bands may extend well inland, particularly today and Friday. Westerly winds gusting to 60 or 70 km/h will result in areas of near zero visibility at times in blowing snow,” the warning from Environment Canada said.

The weather office said parts of Perth County are under an orange snow squall warning and could see between 40 and 70 cm of snow, with up to 10 cm falling per hour at times. Wind gusts could reach 80 km/h.

“This will be a long duration event with snow squalls likely persisting into Saturday,” an orange snow squall warning states.

What do ‘orange’ and ‘yellow’ watches and warnings mean?

Environment Canada has recently changed the way they issue weather alerts. The system is now colour-coded to reflect the expected severity.

• Yellow: Hazardous weather may cause damage, disruption or health impacts
• Orange: Severe weather is likely to cause significant damage, disruption or health impacts
• Red: Very dangerous and possibly life-threatening weather will cause extreme damage and disruption

The new system also includes an indication of how confident Environment Canada meteorologists are about the forecast.