Environment Canada has now issued a winter storm warning for the London, Ont., region ahead of the holiday weekend.
Wind gusts are now expected to reach 90 to 100 km/h, creating widespread blowing snow “which will significantly reduce visibility” with wind chills dropping the temperature down to the -20 range.
According to the winter storm warning, which is also in effect for the rest of southern Ontario, precipitation is expected to begin late Thursday in the London area in the form of rain or snow.
Temperatures are expected to plummet on Friday morning leading to a potential flash freeze. Rapidly falling temperatures will be accompanied by damaging winds along with heavy snow at times. Extensive blowing snow will develop Friday morning and into Saturday.
The winter storm warning is in effect for:
- London – Parkhill – Eastern Middlesex County
- Strathroy – Komoka – Western Middlesex County
While a predicted white Christmas is ahead, weather officials continue to advise residents to “consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.”
According to Anthony Farnell, chief meteorologist for Global News, Londoners can also expect to see the remanence of the major storm lead into their Christmas Day festivities.
“It’ll be around on Sunday, a little calmer in some areas, but still, where those Lake Effect bands are impacting, it’s still zero visibility for almost 48 hours which means if you’re stranded or you go into a ditch and the roads end up being shut down, you could be there a while,” he said.
“This situation is not just your average lake effect where the snow squalls around and there’s some wind. This is 100 km/h gusts that could also knock out power to parts of southwestern Ontario.”
“Get your emergency kits in place so that you’re not caught off guard,” advised Steven Flisfeder, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, along with Hydro One, which said that it is also preparing for “extended power outages.”
Farnell added that “as you get closer to Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and the areas immediately adjacent to the shoreline, there will be winds 100 to 120 km/h for late Friday and continuing right through the night. So this is a long-duration event.
“It’s obviously going to cause some huge waves on all five of the Great Lakes and some coastal flooding as well,” he said.
Kettle Creek Conservation Authority issued a flood watch Wednesday afternoon for residents along the entire Lake Erie shoreline.
“Port Stanley is especially vulnerable to winds over 50 km/h from the southwest, which means with the current forecast, there is a higher potential for flooding and erosion along the shoreline,” said Jennifer Dow, water resources supervisor for the authority.
According to the flood watch, storm surges can cause shoreline erosion as well as damage to shoreline structures due to large waves and localized flooding.
“Based on the current forecast, flood uprush activity could impact low lying areas along the Lake Erie shoreline in particular around the traffic circle and the lower section of William Street in Port Stanley,” the statement read. “Residents are urged to monitor their local conditions and take appropriate action should conditions change.”
The KCCA said the flood watch will remain in effect until Monday.
With heavy snow in the holiday forecast, the City of London also announced on Wednesday that it is monitoring the predicted weather conditions closely, saying it is ready to deploy crews and equipment when needed.
For more information and the latest snow removal updates, check out london.ca/snow.
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