Winter weather breezes through GTA, snow squall warnings in effect for parts of southern Ontario

Another burst of winter weather blew through the Greater Toronto Area Thursday, with brief bursts of heavier snow and high winds breezing throughout the region.

A special weather statement remains in effect for Toronto, as the lake effect snow may cause “hazardous” travel conditions for drivers due to reduced visibility.

• For hourly and daily forecast, including snowfall totals, visit our weather hub here.

Snow squall warnings and watches are also impacting other parts of southern Ontario, spanning from Peterborough to London, going as far north as Parry Sound.

Some regions are expecting up to 60 centimetres of snow through Saturday, with Environment Canada calling for “intense” snowfall rates of five to 10 centimetres per hour at times.

Here’s a recap of Thursday’s weather system:

3 p.m.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said drivers should always be prepared for changing conditions, especially with the sun setting soon.

“When the sun goes down, and it’s dark, and you don’t know what you’re driving into, all of a sudden, you go into a wall of snow, and you go from great visibility to next to zero visibility in a matter of 100 meters or less,” Schmidt said.

“Doesn’t look bad right now, but come nightfall and come the continuation of these, these winds that are picking that moisture off Georgian Bay, it can be very treacherous.”

12 p.m.

Snow squall warnings are in effect for areas around Georgian Bay, including Barrie, which could see between 30 and 50 centimetres of snowfall during the storm.

10:30 a.m.

Environment Canada Meteorologist Steven Flisfeder said more “intense” periods of snowfall are expected north of the city later today and into tomorrow.

“What we are seeing this morning, the winds are from the west, which is really spreading out those snow squalls so they are not as intense as they are going to get,” he said.

“Those winds are going to shift to be more northwest so that is really going to lock squalls into place overnight tonight into early tomorrow morning.”

He said hardest hit regions tomorrow morning will include areas southeast of Georgian Bay, through Barrie, towards Lake Simcoe and northern York Region.

“They are going to get locked into a singular snow squall band with very intense accumulations, very low visibility as well. When you add in the wind gusts, it is going to be very difficult on the roads.”

He said another, more severe band, is set to hit areas east of Lake Huron tomorrow.

9:30 a.m.

Hydro One spokesperson Tiziana Baccega Rosa told CP24 that the utility is dealing with outages that are mostly concentrated in central and eastern Ontario due to high winds overnight. Some outages have been reported in southern Ontario, she noted.

“Crews are on the ready, on standby,” Baccega Rosa said.

“It is always important to prepare for the potential of an extended outage, whether that means you choose to shelter in place or make arrangements to stay elsewhere. It is really important that you have the items you need.”

Those items include non-perishable foods, flashlights, and fully charged electronics and battery packs, she said.

8:30 a.m.

OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said drivers need to be prepared for rapidly changing conditions.

“If you are doing any driving or travelling and you end up into white out (conditions)… it can really catch drivers by surprise,“ Schmidt said.

“That’s where we often see problems, where people starting piling into one another because of those dramatically changing visibility and weather conditions.”

He said drivers should make sure snow is cleared from their vehicles and their washer fluid is replenished before hitting the road.

“If you run out of washer fluid and you can’t clear that snow and road grime off your windshield, visibility is paralyzed and you have no way of seeing where you are going,” Schmidt noted.

6 a.m.

Environment Canada says Toronto and parts of the GTA remain under a special weather statement.

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“Lake effect snow may affect portions of the Greater Toronto Area today and tonight,” the national weather agency said in a special weather statement on its website.

“Snowfall accumulations are not expected to be significant, but visibility may be reduced in brief bursts of heavier snow and local blowing snow. Hazardous travel conditions are possible as a result.”

Environment Canada says the city could see about two centimetres of accumulation by late afternoon.

Wind gusts of between 40 km/h and 70 km/h are possible this morning but will diminish this afternoon.

Snow squalls may continue into the evening, with as much as two centimetres falling overnight, Environment Canada said.

Toronto will see a high of 2 C today, dropping to -2 C overnight.

The temperature will dip to a high of -0 C on Friday but will feel closer to -8 with the wind chill in the morning. Flurries are expected to continue on Friday.