Environment Canada has updated a winter weather travel advisory for the Hamilton Area.
The weather agency issued its first advisory of the season for the GTA, as well as regions spanning from Waterloo east to Kingston and as far north as Barrie and Peterborough.
Despite Hamilton being spared the worst of a snowfall on Tuesday night, Environment Canada is urging residents in much of southern Ontario to take extra caution when driving on Wednesday.
Snow is expected to taper to scattered flurries later by the afternoon amid a low-pressure system that will continue to track northeast across the region.
“Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions,” Environment Canada said in a release on Wednesday morning.
“If visibility is reduced while driving, slow down, watch for tail lights ahead and be prepared to stop.”
OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt echoes that advice, suggesting drivers slow down when experiencing slippery conditions.
“When you’re in zero or next-to-zero visibility and icy snowy roads, you’re going to be slipping and sliding all over the place,” Schmidt told Global News.
“Just don’t be in a hurry and have that awareness.”
Global News chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell says the snow was “lake enhanced” due to Lake Ontario being several degrees above freezing hitting cold air from the east.
“The air as you go up in the atmosphere is quite cold for this time of year,” Farnell explained.
“We’ve got an east wind that’s just bringing all of that moisture inland towards the GTA.”
Hamilton’s general forecast for Wednesday is calling for periods of snow to end by noon with 2 cm of additional snow possible.
The high is expected to reach 2 degrees Celsius. The low is expected to hit -2 C with a windchill.
The city is likely to see more flurries on Thursday and a high of 2 C.