Widespread cold warnings issued as deep freeze grips southwestern Ontario

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Widespread cold warnings issued as deep freeze grips southwestern Ontario

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London-area residents are being asked to stay inside and stay warm however possible, as an arctic air mass puts the region into a deep freeze with the coldest weather seen this season.

Yellow cold weather warnings were in effect early Friday afternoon from Environment Canada, saying bitterly cold conditions would continue into Saturday morning.

Wind chill values of around -28 C were expected through the day Friday, while overnight into Saturday morning, it will feel more like -32 C, the national weather agency said.

“This is a cold air mass that we haven’t seen since around February 2023, so it’s been a couple of winters since we’ve seen cold like this,” said Eric Tomlinson, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

Most, if not all of southern Ontario was covered with yellow cold warnings by Friday afternoon. Cold temperatures were expected to continue through the weekend; however, Environment Canada said wind chill values would rise from -31 C Saturday morning to -16 C in the afternoon.

An extreme cold alert issued earlier in the week by The Middlesex-London Health Unit has been extended to Sunday, health officials said.

“This cold air, yes, it is somewhat related to the polar vortex,” Tomlinson said.

“The polar vortex is always present throughout the year, and sometimes during the winter, you can have certain atmospheric patterns that lead to a shift southward, and that’s what brings that colder air down south over our region, and that’s what’s happening this weekend.”

In western Canada, the same arctic air mass prompted more severe orange cold warnings, which called for wind chill values between -40 C to -45 C in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and -45 to -50 in northern parts of those provinces, and northern Ontario.

The coldest place in Canada early Friday afternoon was the northern Saskatchewan community of Uranium City, near the border with the Northwest Territories, at -38 C without the wind chill.

A person trudges through the cold and snow along Clarence Street near Victoria Park in downtown London, Ont. on Jan. 21, 2026. (Matthew Trevithick/CBC)

Areas north of London, in Huron and Perth counties, were also under yellow snow squall warnings Friday afternoon, calling for snow squalls through the day and evening, along with gusty winds up to 60 km/h and blowing snow.

Several roads in the two counties were closed Friday afternoon because of the weather, including Hwy. 23 north of Hwy. 7 to the Listowel area, and Hwy. 4 north of Exeter. Hwy. 8 was also closed from the west side of Stratford to Goderich.

“Those snow squalls will meander, and visibility could be reduced for areas all along the eastern shoreline of Lake Huron. The worst of it … is probably up towards Bruce County,” Tomlinson said. About 10 to 20 cm was expected through Friday in areas closer to London.

More snow is expected to arrive in southwestern Ontario on Sunday as the southerly arctic air mass collides with an atmospheric river pulling warm, moisture-laden air from the Gulf of Mexico. That system is expected to wreak havoc across several U.S. states between Friday and Sunday.

At least 177 million people were under watches or warnings for ice and snow in the U.S., and more than 200 million were under cold weather advisories or warnings. Washington D.C., New York and Boston could receive around 30 centimetres of snow, U.S. forecasters said.

“As it moves northeastward, although the bulk of the system is expected to remain over the U.S, we will see some impacts across southern Ontario on Sunday,” Tomlinson said.