Next powerful storm with colder air threatens 20 cm of snow in Ontario

Winter may have taken its time to arrive across Ontario, but after this week's rounds of snow, there will be little to question in terms of the season. After a blast of heavy snow and rain through the early part of the week, all eyes are now on a massive and powerful winter storm as we head into the weekend.

Low pressure will rapidly intensify as it heads northeast into the Great Lakes region, and this storm is set to bring widespread strong winds and heavy snow late Friday and into Saturday. With more cold air to work with, snowfall totals could be significant in some areas.

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Thursday: Weak clipper drops quick burst of snow

Ahead of this bigger late week storm, a weak clipper system from the U.S. Midwest will track through southern Ontario on Thursday bringing a couple of centimetres of snow. Snow moves into the southwest during the early morning hours, spreading across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) through the morning commute, and winding down ahead of the evening commute.

Up to 5 cm of snow is possible for most areas. Snow will remain south of Bracebridge and Bancroft, and will depart Kingston into the evening hours.

PHOTOS: First dose of winter hits, with more snow coming to Ontario this week

Friday into Saturday: Large and impactful winter storm takes aim

Late Friday and into Saturday, another strong, colder system is forecast to bring widespread, heavy snow to the province. Low pressure will rapidly intensify as it heads northeast into the Great Lakes. This storm will bring widespread strong winds and heavy snow to the Great Lakes region.

This winter storm is forecast to undergo bombogenesis, which occurs when a low's minimum central pressure deepens by at least 24 millibars in just 24 hours.

This level of strengthening is noteworthy because it can increase the winds and precipitation rates expected for communities along the storm's track.

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The system will track into southwestern Ontario Friday evening and engulf the rest of the province by midnight. The heaviest snow will fall through the overnight hours, and linger into Saturday morning for eastern Ontario.

Although the system will be slightly colder than the system on Tuesday, there is still the chance for some rain along the Lake Erie shoreline into Windsor, London, and could even bring some mixing and rain into the Lake Ontario shorelines, as well. With temperatures hovering right around the freezing mark, however, it could be a close call.

A widespread swath of 10-20 cm of snow is possible, with some localized areas possibly exceeding the 20 cm mark. We will have to keep an eye on areas that could transition into rain, which could see just slightly less than 10 cm.

Extensive blowing and drifting snow is likely amid gusty winds, and depending on the exact storm track, there's also the potential for localized wind damage and power outages.

Multi-day lake-effect snow squalls with coldest air of the season

Colder than seasonal temperatures will dominate starting Sunday, and continue into next week, as well. An extended lake-effect snow squall event is also likely as arctic air floods into the region.

The wind direction will be changeable through the event, so the snow squalls will meander across the snow belts resulting in widespread significant snow. This should prevent overly remarkable totals for any specific locations, however.

A milder pattern is expected for the final week of January.

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