Snow squalls continue in southern Ontario, next system close behind
Lake-effect snow squalls will continue to batter southern Ontario Friday while a new storm approaches.
After a windy Thursday across southern Ontario filled with bursts of strong snow, the potent lake-effect snow squalls will continue off Lake Huron and Georgian Bay through Friday morning, making for troubling commutes.
Northwest gusts of 40-60 km/h will continue to add a punch, kicking up blowing snow and keeping wind chills sharp. Forecasters anticipate two dominant squalls to form by early Friday, each targeting a different part of the region.
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Unfortunately, there won't be much rest from the snowy weather as another winter storm is expected to make its way into the province late Saturday, bringing up to another 15 cm of snow for some communities.
Lake-effect snow squalls continue Friday
The first squall band forecasters are keeping an eye on will be coming off Lake Huron, crossing Highway 21 near Goderich and heading southeast toward Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Stratford, Woodstock and Brantford. Drivers on Highways 401 and 403 should prepare for sudden whiteouts and accumulating snow.
We could also see the squall move into the Hamilton-Brantford region at times.
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Farther north, a second strong band will form off Georgian Bay, targeting directly at Barrie, Lake Simcoe and the 400 corridor into the northeast Greater Toronto Area (GTA), around Oshawa. Even areas outside the main bands will experience scattered flurries throughout the morning. Luckily, there are no forecast impacts to Toronto proper on Friday.
The squalls will wobble throughout the afternoon, eventually breaking apart by the evening. A few lingering bursts may continue into early Saturday, but the attention have already shifted to the next incoming system.
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Weekend system brings additional snow
A Colorado low is projected to sweep across southern Ontario Saturday night and Sunday, spreading a more uniform layer of snow across the region.
The snow will begin in the southwest, near Windsor, Saturday evening. It will spread into the GTA by the overnight hours and reach Ottawa by early Sunday, where it will then persist throughout the day.
Folks in the snowbelts, who have already had to contend with Thursday and Friday's snow squalls, could see an additional 10-15 cm of snow over the weekend.
For the rest of southern Ontario, however, we're looking at a widespread 5-10 cm of snow.
There is still some uncertainty about how much snow we'll see along the shores of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, though. We could see some of the snow mix with rain at times, limiting totals to just 3-5 cm or even less.
Looking into the beginning of December on Monday, we'll see temperatures take a dive behind the weekend's system. This will keep nearly all of Ontario below freezing--an apt start to meteorological winter.
Stay with The Weather Network for the latest updates across Ontario