Areas north of the GTA could get over 75 cm of snow this weekend

Environment Canada is warning of snow squalls in parts of Ontario north of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) this weekend, with more than 75 centimetres of snow accumulation possible in some areas.

The weather agency has issued snow squall warnings for much of cottage country, including Bracebridge, Haliburton, Owen Sound, Huntsville and Parry Sound.

The warnings say some areas may see peak snowfall rates of up to 10 centimetres per hour, with local accumulations possibly exceeding 75 centimetres by Sunday.

The agency says snow squalls can cause weather conditions to vary, and changes from clear skies to heavy snow can happen within just a few kilometres.

It says heavy snow and blowing snow could lead to poor or zero visibility at times, with power outages possible.

The agency says travel in these areas is expected to be “difficult to nearly impossible” during intense snowfall, and advises those travelling to make emergency preparations.

Some GTA areas could see snow squalls

Although the snow squall warnings are mainly for north of the GTA, some areas of the region could be impacted.

“Lake-effect impacting the snowbelt region over the next few days,” says 680 NewsRadio weather specialist Denise Andreacchi.

“While the GTA doesn’t take a direct hit on the models, there is some uncertainty as to whether some of the squalls come close to areas of the GTA that border these communities. So we could see more significant accumulation in northern Halton/Peel, and northern York/Durham Regions.”

As for other areas of the GTA and Toronto, Andreacchi says light snow is possible on Friday, Saturday and Sunday — anywhere from trace amounts up to three centimetres. She said northern areas of the GTA could receive more accumulation on Saturday and Sunday.

Although daytime temperatures are expected to hover above the freezing mark on these days it will feel more like between -4 C to -7 C, with the potential for wind gusts up to 50 km/h.

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