º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍø

Residents are advised to limit their time outdoors if possible, on account of potential flying objects picked up by the winds, Environment Canada meteorologist Steven Flisfeder told the Star. “Falling tree limbs are a potential risk with these gusts, as well power outages.”

Affected regions include “the vast majority of southern Ontario with the exception of eastern Ontario,” including the City of Toronto, he said.

Additionally, wind warnings have been issued for regions near the shores of Georgian Bay and Manitoulin Island. Residents in these regions can expect wind gusts of 90 up to 100 kilometres an hour, he explained.

Winds began picking up throughout the morning, peaking around noon.

“Across the GTA, the winds will start to pick up more just after the noon-hour into the early afternoon,” Flisfeder said. “Those high winds will progress eastward along with the cold front as it moves across southern Ontario.”

The gusts are expected to die down near the evening. For the GTA in particular, winds are expected to diminish in the late afternoon and early evening: “Probably right around commute time,” Flisfeder said.

Flisfeder noted there’s also a risk of strong, possibly severe thunderstorms in northeast Ontario, just north of Algonquin Provincial Park towards the North Bay area. These regions may also experience severe wind gusts.

These weather phenomena are the result of a cold front pushing across southern Ontario. As this system collides with the present warm air mass over these regions, the contrast in temperatures is helping to whip up fierce winds and potential storms, he said.

“Please continue to monitor alerts and forecasts issued by Environment Canada,” their statement advised.

In Toronto, there will also be a 30 per cent chance of showers late in the afternoon, as well as later in the evening. The clouds will clear overnight as the temperature plummets to a cool 11 C. 

The city will see a high of 25 C, with a humidex of 28 Friday. 

The heat’s expected to die down over the weekend and into early next week, hovering around 20 C from Saturday to next Thursday. Saturday will be a mix of sun and cloud, with a high of 21 C.