After a mild start to the season, winter is back in full force in Ontario, with a blast of frigid air and another major dump of snow gearing up to bury parts of the province.

Another band of intense lake effect snow squalls could see accumulation of as much as 60 cm of snow in the hardest-hit areas of the province by Thursday, according to a concerning string of alerts issued by Environment and Climate Change Canada on Tuesday.

Snow squall warnings have been issued in areas across the province, and snowfall totals could reach truly apocalyptic proportions in certain areas. Near Owen Sound, as much as 50 cm is expected in the next couple of days, while areas along the eastern shores of Lake Superior, like Wawa, could see totals in the 60 cm range by Thursday.

For any old-timers brought up on Freedom Units instead of metric, that's about 1.97 feet of snow, or enough to entirely vanish small pets and children.

Lake effect snow is also expected to slam into locations along Lake Ontario. A snow squall warning is also in effect for the southern parts of Prince Edward County on Tuesday, where 5 to 10 cm of snow is possible.

📢 An updated look at the alerts in effect this morning for ON ❄️!

▪️Snow Squall Warnings
▪️Snow Squall Watches
▪️Winter Weather Travel Advisories

Find all your alerts 👉https://t.co/Qw5jleFweH#ONStorm #ONwx pic.twitter.com/7DDWHGKwM3

— ECCC Weather Ontario (@ECCCWeatherON) January 16, 2024

Toronto and the surrounding region will get off comparatively light on Tuesday with just two cm of snowfall predicted by Environment Canada, and meteorologists at The Weather Network predicting that the system will be "short-lived for the southwest and Greater Toronto Area."

Flurries are expected throughout the rest of the week for Toronto, leading into a 60 per cent chance of heavier snowfall for the city on Friday.

Winter's sudden acceleration from 0 to 100 in recent weeks has left many Ontario residents with a feeling of seasonal whiplash.

A balmy December and start to the new year came to a crashing halt with multiple large snowfall events followed by temperatures plummeting into the negative double digits.

Toronto and the surrounding area remain under a cold snap as of Tuesday morning, and temperatures are set to continue reaching windchill values in the minus teens throughout the week.