Ontario's new winter forecast says these places will get heavy snow, ice storms and cold

A new winter forecast has revealed what the season will be like across Canada.

You can expect "intense" cold, heavy lake-effect snow, ice storms, and more from Ontario's weather as the province becomes a winter battleground.

According to this Canadian winter forecast the Farmer's Almanac put out recently, winter will be "a season of dramatic contrasts."

That includes frequent snowstorms, lake-effect snow, freezing rain and ice in Ontario.

According to the Farmer's Almanac, southern Ontario will be one of the most active battlegrounds for winter weather during the season.

That's because cold northwest winds are forecast to cross the relatively warmer waters of the Great Lakes and cause "intense" bands of lake-effect snow. Anyone in snowbelt communities east and southeast of the Great Lakes will need to stay alert for localized heavy snowfall.

Big storms from the southwest are forecast to bring widespread snow, sleet, freezing rain or rain to southern Ontario this winter, the Farmer's Almanac said.

These storms could hit Toronto, Hamilton, London, Windsor, Ottawa and other parts of the region when temperatures are close to 0 C. So, one storm may be mostly snow, but another starts as snow, changes to freezing rain or rain and then flash-freezes.

You can expect frequent freezes and thaws with mixed precipitation in southern Ontario.

Also, there is a risk of ice storms from Kingston to Ottawa during the winter season.

Parts of northern Ontario, including Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins, are forecast to get a more persistently wintry pattern than the south this winter. There will likely be "intense" cold in those places as well.

A cold and snowy season is forecast for communities further north, including Kapuskasing, Cochrane and Moosonee, according to the Farmer's Almanac.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.