Winter hasn’t been so kind to Ontario’s snowbelt areas until now

Depending on that you ask in Ontario, it’s either been an unusually peaceful winter months until now, in addition to the recent cold snap, or there has actually been a lot snowfall that the financial institutions accumulated along the roads are being determined in feet currently.

While the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has actually skimmed by with a couple of small snowfall events, with not also one occasion to go down greater than 10 centimetres at once on the city of Toronto, it’s quite the different story when you head farther west and north of the region.

RELATED: Great Lakes ice coverage skyrockets amid cold snap

Ontario’s snowbelt areas around Lake Huron and Georgian Bay have actually been specifically struck hard with lake-effect snow squall occasions this winter months, apparently relentless considering that the first wallop in the final days of November 2024.

Locales such as Gravenhurst, Bracebridge, Orillia, Barrie, Kincardine and Owen Sound are simply numerous of the neighborhoods that have actually reported large overalls from several lake-effect snowfall occasions via this winter months until now.

Jan 2, 2025 snow squall iN Orillia,Ont (Nathan Howes/The Weather Network)

The initially event in the 2024-25 lake-effect snow squall period took a toll on Gravenhurst and Bracebridge, particularly. The multi-day occasion, which discarded greater than 100 centimeters of snow on Echo Bay, brought roadway closures, accidents and power blackouts to a great part of home nation. As an outcome, the Town of Gravenhurst stated a state of emergency situation, lasting for a number of days, and triggered the community’s digital Emergency Operations Centre.

And previously this month, a lake-effect snowfall event in Barrie, Ont., prompted the city to proclaim a substantial climate occasion, influencing traveling and solutions throughout the district. That certain multi-day event saw a minimum of 73.6 centimeters of snow accumulate in Phelpston, northwest of Barrie, with greater than 63 centimeters collect in Markdale.

The Weather Network gos to Bruce County

Mark Robinson, Storm Hunter and meteorologist at The Weather Network, seen Bruce County lately to see exactly how deep the snowpack is.

One of those he spoke with was Mike Walsh, a Kincardine homeowner that stated neighborhood individuals made use of to see snow buildups such as this “all the time, but now they call it a high winter.”

“You see the lake, it’s frozen over. So, what happens is when it gets really, really cold like this, this is what happens. But, we’re used to it up here,” stated Walsh.

More snow for several of the squall-hit areas

This weekend break’s lake-effect snow will certainly begin to disintegrate throughout the snowbelts on Sunday.

But there will certainly be extra heading. An extremely deep centre of reduced stress is anticipated to swirl over Hudson Bay on Monday.

By Monday early morning, pockets of hefty snow, blowing snow, and decreased presence include a vast swath of north Ontario, drooping in the direction of northeastern Ontario throughout the mid-day. Localized snowstorm problems are feasible under areas of heaviest snowfall throughout Muskoka.

Be certain to inspect roadway problems initially, and enable added time for traveling if you’re going out, if you have the ability to leave your driveway to begin with.

When can we anticipate the lake-effect maker to close down?

With that stated, individuals living near Lake Huron and Georgian Bay will all would like to know something: When can we anticipate to see completion of the lake-effect snow squalls?

There is some good news to report on that front with the Great Lakes seeing a noticeable jump in ice coverage from the current cold wave.

As of Friday,Jan 24, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that 24.8 percent of the Great Lakes were covered by ice. The area’s regular ice protection has to do with 24 percent by this factor in January.

That information isn’t fairly sufficient for the snowbelts to bid farewell to lake-effect maker, yet, yet we are relocating closer to the day when locations around Lake Huron and Georgian Bay will certainly be able quote bye-bye up until the late autumn at some time.

Below is simply a choice of several of the visuals that from the snow squall occasions that have actually been uploaded to social networks so far.

With documents from Lauren O’Neil, video clip reporter and lead at The Weather Network, and Mark Robinson, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.

Follow Nathan Howes on X and Bluesky.