Snow squall watch issued for Toronto ‘as travel may be hazardous’ Friday afternoon

Environment Canada has issued a snow squall watch for Toronto as brief, intense snowfall is expected to develop for Friday afternoon into the evening.

“A well organized snow squall originating from Lake Huron will move across the area late this afternoon into this evening,” the statement read, adding that people’s commute home will be impacted for areas near the north shore of Lake Ontario.

The weather agency said under the snow squall, visibility will be significantly reduced due to the heavy snow combined with blowing snow.

“This band will be capable of producing quick accumulations of 2 to 5 cm in an hour along with sudden reductions to visibility in heavy snow.”

Environment Canada is warning that “travel may be hazardous due to sudden changes in the weather” and advises to “consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.”

Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area have seen winter weather conditions since Wednesday when the region got dumped with snow.

“Now with Arctic air moving over Georgian Bay and Lake Huron, snow squalls will be the winter feature, bringing heavy snow and wind gusts to 70 km/h, making for hazardous travel conditions on the roads,” Global News meteorologist Ross Hull said.

Hull added the weather conditions could cause snow squalls to be in place until Saturday, bringing near-blizzard conditions at times.

Gusty winds throughout Friday will reduce visibility for northern parts of the GTA along roads like Highway 400. The system is expected to swing west towards Toronto by the evening, Hull said.

Toronto will see a high of -3 C with a wind chill of -14 for Friday.