Ontario's Weather Forecast Warns Of 'High Impact' Multi-Day Blizzard & Here's When It Stops

Ontario's weather forecast has nearly every part of the province under some kind of weather warning, with notices in effect from Environment Canada about winter storms, snowfall, and even blizzards for some.

The storm arrived sometime between Thursday evening and Friday morning for most of the province and hours into what's expected to be a multi-day event, the weather has already caused tons of problems.

"A far-reaching and high impact storm moving over the Great Lakes has prompted widespread warnings across the entire province of Ontario," said the latest forecast report from The Weather Network (TWN) on Friday morning. "Heavy snowfall, potentially damaging winds, blizzard conditions, and icy roads and surfaces are all hazards from this multi-day storm."

According to TWN, between five and 15 centimetres of snow had already been reported in Ontario as of Friday morning.

Areas around Ottawa had recorded more than five centimetres.

From here, conditions are only expected to worsen throughout Friday and into Saturday, as temperatures drop and areas that got rain will be at risk of a dangerous flash-freeze.

The combination of harsh winter precipitation and high winds, in some cases gusting up to 90 km/h, has already led to power outages in some parts of the province.

According to Hydro One, over 35,000 customers were without power as of early Friday. Officials expect power outages to be a problem for many as a result of this storm.

The worst of it has led to blizzard warnings in areas like Midland, Orillia, and other locations near Georgian Bay with snowfall amounts of up to 50 centimetres possible.

"Blizzard conditions develop this evening as a result of very strong winds and lake effect snow off Georgian Bay," said Environment Canada in a statement. "Given the localized nature of lake effect snow, accumulations will vary depending on location. Remember, it does not take much accumulation in combination with very strong winds for blizzard conditions to develop."

In Toronto, snow accumulation isn't expected to be as much of a problem, but with a winter storm warning in effect, Mayor John Tory said Friday, "it's all hands on deck."

"There are 1,100+ pieces of equipment ready across the city ready to tackle the snow when it accumulates," Tory said.

Schools in Toronto have closed ahead of the arrival of Friday's storm and Pearson Airport is also dealing with an agonizingly long list of cancellations, with Westjet announcing its service in Ontario is suspended until at least Saturday.

The TTC also announced that it's taking 41 bus stops out of service to prevent vehicles from getting stuck. Service on Line 3 Scarborough RT has also been shut down.

The good news is, by Christmas Day, some improvements are in the forecast.

"Christmas Day itself is looking much better across the bulk of Ontario’s population centres," said TWN, but warned that snow squalls will be possible for some, particularly communities near Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. "The squalls will continue through the day, slowly winding down into Boxing Day on Monday."

The reality is, anyone travelling for the holidays who hasn't left yet is likely in for a very long and potentially dangerous trip that you might want to consider cancelling or postponing until after Christmas.

Ontario Provincial Police are advising people not to be out on the roads if they can help it.