20 hours of snowfall to blanket the region, with challenging road conditions
Commuters need to be cautious on the roads on Wednesday, with significant snowfall that is anticipated to make driving conditions hazardous.
"We'll have a full shift on tonight, so it will be all hands on deck, and if the snow, you know, continues throughout the evening, they'll be here until the next shift starts tomorrow morning," noted City of Barrie director of operations Dave Friary.
Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Simcoe, Dufferin, Grey Bruce counties, and Muskoka, noting up to 20 centimetres of the white stuff will accumulate and continue through Thursday morning.
There is a chance of more snow possible over higher terrain areas.
"We're going to see that pretty well for about 20 hours of snow and 10 hours of heavy snow. Then it will peter out tomorrow morning [and] we'll see some flurries," said Environment Canada's senior climatologist David Phillips.
The national weather agency warns of reduced visibility in heavy snow, rapidly accumulating snow and possible isolated power outages.
"A Texas low will bring heavy snow to the area," the agency stated.
There is the potential for a couple of extra centimetres to shovel with the flurries Thursday morning.
Residents and motorists are encouraged to anticipate quickly changing and deteriorating travel conditions.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | U.S. President Joe Biden touches down in Ottawa
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Ottawa for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.

Trudeau, Biden could agree to end 'loophole' in Safe Third Country Agreement: CP source
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
Opposition parties affirm call for interference inquiry, amid questions over MP Han Dong
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
'Scream as loud as you can': 5 boys rescued from NYC tunnel
Five mischievous boys had to be rescued after they crawled through a storm drain tunnel in New York City and got lost, authorities said.
Make sure to check your grocery bill otherwise you may pay more: Survey
A majority of Canadians have seen a mistake on their grocery receipts in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
Asteroid to hurtle past Earth closer than the moon this weekend
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
Number of Canadians receiving EI at record lows, down 44 per cent from last year: StatCan
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Indigenous sisters developing video games to revitalize Mohawk language
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.
Here are the locations of the first 12 new Zellers stores
Zellers has opened the first of 25 new locations within Hudson's Bay stores across the country. The Canadian retail chain launched 12 stores in Ontario and Alberta Thursday, along with a new e-commerce website.