After a multi-day affair, Ontario’s lake-effect machine will soon shut off for the time being, giving snowbelt residents and municipalities a chance to catch up on snow-clearing efforts into this week.

Multiple snow squalls have meandered north and south since midweek, bringing near-whiteout conditions from Orillia to Goderich and many communities in between. The result has been dangerous travel conditions across multiple days as snow squalls meandered across some of the traditional snowbelt regions.

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Extensive blowing and drifting snow made travel next to impossible at times.

Some of the hardest-hit locales were forecast to see 30-60+ cm of snow. Some snowfall observation reports have started to come in. Since Thursday, Jan. 2, 32 cm has been documented at Wiarton airport, 73.6 cm in Phelpston, northwest of Barrie, and 63.2 cm in Markdale.

Due to the snowfall in Barrie, Ont., the city declared a significant weather event Saturday that impacted travel and services throughout the municipality.

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Snow squall in Orillia, Ont., on Jan. 2, 2025. (Nathan Howes/The Weather Network)

While the worst of the snow squalls have subsided, bands of lake-effect snow will persist of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay for part of Sunday morning. It’s possible for flurries to reach the GTA at times as the squalls meander about. But accumulations here will be minimal compared to the knee-deep totals expected beneath the heaviest squalls.

Colder-than-normal temperatures are expected to dominate the first few weeks of the month, so it will certainly be feeling like winter once again.

Visuals of the significant snowfall event are circulating on social media. Below is just a selection of what is making the rounds so far.

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WATCH: SEE IT: Snow squalls slam parts of Ontario

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