‘Orange’ winter storm warning issued for Southern Ontario: Environment Canada

An “orange” winter storm warning has been issued for much of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Halton, Hamilton and Niagara.

Hamilton and Niagara regions are expected to receive anywhere from 20 to 35 cm of snow throughout Sunday and overnight into Monday morning.

Around 20 to 40 cm of snowfall is in the forecast for the Halton and Toronto regions. Peak snowfall rates of 5 to 8 cm per hour are expected.

Drivers are being advised that there will be reduced visibility on roadways due to blowing snow with wind gusts up to 50 km/h.

Environment Canada says snowfall rates will be a lot heavier in the Toronto, GTA, Oakville and Burlington areas due to lake effect snow off of Lake Ontario.

The snow is expected to taper to periods of light snow or flurries overnight.

Hamilton has declared a significant weather event as of 12 p.m. today due to the potentially hazardous road conditions caused by snowfall and wind.

In a post on X, Hamilton says all city facilities, including arenas, community centres and museums will be closed today. The Gage Park Greenhouse closed at noon.

#HamOntSnow Update: All City facilities, including arenas, community centres and Gage Park Greenhouse will close at noon today. All Museums are closed. The emergency Warming Centre at Bennetto Community Centre will remain open. For updates visit: https://t.co/h2EqH6WvT5

— City of Hamilton (@cityofhamilton) January 25, 2026

Hamilton says the warning centre at Bennetto Community Centre will remain open.

St. Catharines has also announced that all city facilities will be closed as of 1 p.m. today. They add that bookings and programming currently not underway will be cancelled. A winter parking ban will also come into effect at 6 p.m.

Burlington has declared a significant snow event beginning tonight at 9 p.m. City services and recreation facilities will close at 3 p.m. All street parking is suspended during the snow event.

Brantford is advising residents to keep parked vehicles off roads where possible to allow crews to clear roadways effectively and safely.

At this time, there is one cancelled flight and three delayed arriving flights into John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.

Toronto Pearson International Airport has a large number of delayed and cancelled flights. Travellers should check their website for updated flight information.

READ MORE: Environment Canada issues winter storm warning for Southern Ontario