Ontario, brace yourselves for a rare winter storm that’s quickly making its way across the entire province for the holidays. And it’s expected to be a pretty hefty one, considering that all of southern Ontario is currently under a Special Weather Statement.
What the Weather Network is calling a ‘generational storm’, is set to hit Ontario through the holiday weekend, starting early Thursday. That’s when we’ll see a touch of light snow and rain for southern Ontario before Friday, where chances of a possible flash freeze are likely.
If you were planning on heading home for the holidays, Thursday is probably the best time to leave.
As we head into Friday afternoon, the GTA and southern Ontario may start to see snow more prominently as temperatures drop. If you were wishing for a white Christmas, chances are that you’ll get one because widespread snow and strong winds are expected to take over the region for the rest of Friday evening. Up to 15 cm of snow is expected to hit the Toronto area, according to TWN.
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Be weather aware if you’re travelling for the holidays. Here’s our Significant Weather Outlook for Ontario valid for Friday and Saturday. #ONstorm #ONwx pic.twitter.com/qLr6cXEt49
— ECCC Weather Ontario (@ECCCWeatherON) December 20, 2022
“The sheer size of this storm, the flash freeze potential and blizzard conditions with powerful winds and impressive snowfall totals are what has forecasters attention,” said Kelly Sonnenburg, a meteorologist at TWN.
Friday through Saturday, strong winds are expected to dominate the region with widespread gusts of 70-100 km/h anticipated. They’re expected to be so strong that there’s a possibility of power outages, blizzard conditions, and widespread whiteouts.
At the moment, Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the city of Toronto and really, all of southern Ontario as there’s “high confidence in a high impact winter storm.”
That being said, the E.C. suggests you consider altering your holiday plans if you were set on traveling as it may become dangerous. “Temperatures Friday night into the weekend will likely be the coldest of the season to date,” according to the statement.
But thankfully, the weather is set to improve starting Sunday so you don’t have to worry about your NYE plans, we’re sure that’ll be the end of it… for now.
