Snow squall watch and warning issued for a good portion of Southern Ontario

It’s time to break out the shovels and stock up on salt as snow is expected to arrive in a good portion of Southern Ontario on Monday.

Environment Canada has issued snow squall watches and warnings for a good portion of the province as inclement weather is forecast to begin Monday morning in some areas while others will begin later in the day.

“Snow squalls cause weather conditions to vary considerably; changes from clear skies to heavy snow within just a few kilometres are common,” Environment Canada warned. “Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.”

There are calls for anywhere from 10 to 30 centimetres of snow across the region as the snow is expected to last right into Tuesday night.

The agency issued a watch for the area stretching from London to Milton, and including Stratford, Guelph and Waterloo Region as well as from Richmond Hill to Peterborough, and including the northern portion of Durham and York regions, Lindsay and Peterborough.

A warning was also issued for a good portion of the province that surrounds Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, which includes Barrie, Orillia, and Haliburton, as well as a large number of counties including Dufferin, Grey, Bruce and Oxford. The northern portions of Wellington, Perth, Oxford, Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes counties are also included.

Environment Canada is warning that there could be intense snowfall rates of up to 5 cm per hour at times.

“Strong westerly winds followed by northwesterly winds will also occur, resulting in significantly reduced visibility at times,” Environment Canada said.

“Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.”

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