Some Ontario communities still digging out after a severe storm last weekend should brace for a second round as snow squalls coming off the Great Lakes are expected to bring heavy snow to a swath of the province over the coming days.
Environment Canada has issued a series of weather alerts for regions along the shores of Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, including some areas battered by the recent storm.
Sault Ste. Marie, one of the communities hardest hit by last weekend's intense squalls, is part of a stretch that's expected to see close to 30 centimetres of snow by Wednesday evening, which could then trigger power outages, the agency said.
Blowing snow off Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay could dump up to 60 cm on nearby communities between Tuesday and Wednesday evenings before moving further south, it said.
Communities on the eastern shore of the Georgian Bay bore the brunt of last weekend's storm, and one town in the Muskoka region remains under a state of emergency after it was buried under more than a metre of snow.
Ontario Provincial Police extended a closure of Highway 11 on Sunday between Orillia and Huntsville after hundreds of drivers were stranded, but said late Monday the lanes had fully reopened.
"There are still challenging roads in that area and hydro crews, emergency responders are still finding areas that need to be addressed but thankfully Highway 11 is open to traffic and it is now flowing," OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said in a video posted online Monday night.
Police said Tuesday there were still six tractor trailers stuck on secondary roads, delaying snow removal and power restoration efforts. They also warned that GPS systems may not provide accurate directions in the area due to "unpredictable road conditions and closures over the past few days."
Steven Flisfeder, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said Tuesday the incoming heavy snow is the result of an Alberta clipper making its way through Ontario and gaining moisture as it travels over the Great Lakes.
"The system itself will be out of Ontario probably late Thursday, but in behind that, it's going to be bringing in more cold air, similar to what we saw last weekend across Georgian Bay and Lake Huron," he said.
"So that cold air in behind the Alberta clipper is going to cause more lake effect snow squalls for those same or similar areas already hit last weekend."
While those communities aren't completely out of the woods yet, "hopefully that's enough time for a decent amount of recovery before they're impacted by snow yet again," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2024.
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
