Jan. 4 weather: Up to 60 cm of snow possible as squalls hit southern Ontario

It will be a wintery weekend across the province with more snowfall, and snow squall watches and warnings for parts of southern Ontario.

Environment and Climate Change Canada issued snow squall alerts for communities north and south of the GTA on Friday with some warnings expected to last through Saturday.

London, Barrie, Orillia, and communities near Lake Huron and Georgian Bay can expect heavy snowfall throughout the day with between 20 to 40 cm of accumulation in some areas.

Accumulations of more than 60 cm are possible by Saturday afternoon for areas north of Waterloo.

Snow squalls can cause weather conditions to change quickly “from clear skies to heavy snow within just a few kilometres,” Environment Canada says.

“Road closures are possible. Prepare for quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions,” the agency says.

In other parts of the province, Environment Canada says to expect snow starting early on Saturday with a 40 percent chance of flurries in the afternoon in Mississauga, Toronto, Brampton, and Hamilton.

Communities in the GTA can expect blowing snow with winds around 20 km/h gusting up to 60 km/h around noon.

The daytime high in Mississauga will be -3 C, but will feel more like -14 C with the wind chill.

Into the evening there’s a 60 per cent chance of flurries on Saturday with an overnight low of around -13 C with the wind chill.

There’s still more snow in the forecast on Sunday but conditions are expected to improve slightly in Mississauga with a daytime high of -2 C and an overnight low of -10 C.