A snow squall watch has now become a warning from Environment Canada for Ottawa for Thursday, Feb. 2.
"Periods of brief but intense snowfall are expected," Environment Canada said. "Visibilities will be rapidly reduced due to the heavy snow combined with blowing snow."
Environment Canada said the snow squall warning is for Thursday evening.
Bands of heavy snow are moving through southern Ontario with the passage of an arctic cold front," said Environment Canada. "Heavy snow combined with westerly winds gusting to 60 km/h could produce significantly reduced visibilities at times. Bitterly cold air will follow in the wake of the front, with very cold wind chill values expected tonight into Friday morning."
The snow squall warning is on top of the extreme cold warning Environment Canada has issued for the capital.
According to the weather agency, the temperature will dip down to a low -29 C overnight, with a windchill of -40.
It's expected to be even colder for Friday, Feb. 3, with a forecast high of -26 C and a windchill of -42.
