GTA under winter travel advisory with storm expected to dump up to 10 cm of snow

Another blast of wintry weather is headed for southern Ontario Friday, with Environment Canada warning that snow and high winds could make for dangerous driving conditions this evening.

The federal weather agency has issued travel advisories for nearly the whole Golden Horseshoe, with snow expected to start falling in the late afternoon or early evening.

Between five and 10 centimetres of snow are forecast for most parts of the GTA, with peak snowfall rates of between two and five centimetres per hour.

In Toronto proper, plows are deployed to expressways and major thoroughfares once 2.5 cm of snow have accumulated, and to residential streets after eight.

Winds of up to 70 km/h mixed with the falling snow could significantly reduce visibility for drivers, Environment Canada says.

The snow is expected to transition to rain later tonight or early Saturday morning as temperatures rise above freezing.

Some northerly stretches of the GTA, as well as a wide swath of the province ranging from the shores of Lake Huron in the west to Ottawa in the east, are under a winter storm warning. Those areas could see up to 25 cm of snow fall in a relatively short period of time, Environment Canada says.