Snow squalls expected for parts of southwestern, central Ontario during drive home

A snow squall warning is in effect for a large part of central and southwestern Ontario, with strong winds and snow expected Monday afternoon and heading into the evening.

The warning impacts communities along Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, from communities east of Sarnia to London and as far north as Barrie and Tobermory.

Environment Canada says communities like Kitchener, Waterloo and Toronto should avoid the snow squalls but will see some light snow.

The squalls are expected to cause poor visibility in the impacted communities, with northwest wind gusts from 60 to 80 km/h, especially for those closest to Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.

“Typically, we usually like to have a minimum of 15 centimetres of snow to issue a snow squall warning; that’s probably not going to happen in this particular event. The issue is more going to be the very strong winds and the very poor visibility due to blowing snow,” said Peter Kimbell, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Areas impacted are expected to see between five and 10 centimetres of snow.

Kimbell said due to rain expected earlier in the day, as the temperatures drop, the water will freeze, leading to slippery road conditions.

“When the winds drop below zero, they’re going to get noticeably more dangerous with the roads becoming icy. So that would occur beginning this evening between 5 and 8 p.m., depending on which area you’re talking about,” he said Monday.

Kimbell said the conditions are expected to improve early Tuesday when temperatures will rise again.

The weather agency warns that as the system moves into the areas, there will be hazardous travel conditions due to low visibility in blowing snow and icy road conditions rather than very large snowfall accumulations.

Drivers are advised to be cautious and check the weather before heading out.