We believe it’s important to post a forecast this early due to the potentially significant impacts it could have on our region. This is now your chance to plan for a snowstorm and make any alternative arrangements for Monday should it occur.
We can’t emphasize enough that this forecast will likely change. The best that can be done is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, we don’t want you to be unprepared! There’s no harm in being over-prepared.
Check back on Saturday and Sunday for a more detailed forecast once we get more confidence in the track of the storm.
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The snow has started to make its way into our region late this evening. We are also seeing this very sharp gradient setting up on the northwestern edge of the system.
This is why we had so much uncertainty with the expected accumulation in this area. You can see that London is currently under a very intense band of snow but just a few kilometers to the northwest and there’s barely a flake.
At this point, it looks like our forecast is lining up fairly good based on the current radar. The snow has started a little earlier than expected but that shouldn’t affect the actual totals.
#ONStorm#ONwx After reviewing the latest high-resolution data this evening, we're becoming quite concerned about the GTA around Lake Ontario into Eastern Ontario.
Models are showing intense snowfall rates of 5-10cm PER HOUR (yes, that's in one hour).
Combined with wind gusts approaching 50-80km/h will lead to potentially dangerous blizzard conditions along the Lake Ontario shoreline and parts of Eastern Ontario. The worst conditions will start around 3 am and continue until noon.
If possible, you should avoid any non-essential travel through the affected area until at least the late afternoon. Highway and road closures are likely even for some major highways in the GTA, Niagara region and Eastern Ontario.
NOTE: School boards have already started announcing cancellations tonight. We will keep an updated list of cancellations within the snow day forecast.
If there are any cancellations tomorrow morning, you can be sure we’ll be up bright and early beginning at 6 AM with our bus cancellations live blog to keep you updated.
#ONStorm#ONwx UPDATE: Monday’s Snowstorm Shifts Further West Bringing the Threat of 20+cm of Snow Into the GTA and Central Ontario; Up to 50cm of Snow Possible for Niagara and Eastern Ontario
Once again, we ask you to please *read* the entire forecast as many of your questions and concerns will be answered there. This is a very complex system and just reading the headline or looking at the map won't be that helpful.
We included lots of details about what could happen along with a detailed timeline graphic for each region. Taking that 5-10 minutes to read the forecast is a worthwhile investment to ensure you're properly informed.
#ONStorm#ONwx You may have seen a 'storm chip' forecast circulating on social media for the Maritimes.
We've had many requests from the community to bring the storm chip forecast to Ontario. So we've done just that... introducing our first 'Storm Chips & Hot Cocoa' forecast!
Clearly, this isn't meant to be a scientific forecast by any means. Storm chips tend to be more of an Atlantic Canada tradition, however, it appears to be catching on here. We figured why not put out something a little more light-hearted to ease the stress of this snowstorm.
We aim to be a family-friendly page so we used a drink that everyone of all different ages (including children) can legally enjoy. But for those who need something a little stronger to get through this, feel free to convert it to your preferred adult drink. ;)
We’ve been continuously going over the latest data for the significant snowstorm affecting Southern Ontario late tonight into Monday.
The models continue to trend with a slightly more western track which means higher snowfall totals are possible. Those in our ‘uncertain’ zone will likely see more snow than shown on our map from last night (included in the tweet).
As we mentioned, this area has a very tight gradient between no snow and very heavy snow so changes are expected.
We’re looking at bumping the Hamilton, Toronto and Kawartha Lakes region up to the 25-40cm range on our map.