Environment Canada issued special weather statements across the province on Wednesday morning, with strong winds expected across the London area through the rest of the week.

The weather service says southwest winds could increase to 50 km/h, gusting to 80 km/h, beginning around noon.

“Those winds are going to pivot to northwesterly by Thursday afternoon,” said Kristina Kretchman, a meteorologist at Environment Canada.

Local utility outages are possible, and drivers should be careful as the wind could push high-sided vehicles on the roads, the weather statement warned. 

“Secure loose objects just in case they can get lifted by the wind, and maybe result in some property damage,” Kretchman added.

As the wind continues, there is also a chance of flurries on Wednesday night through Friday morning. 

Environment Canada is urging everyone to continue monitoring alerts and forecasts.

Special weather statements are in place across the province, and similarly high winds are expected in the Toronto and Windsor areas. 

Lake-effect snow is expected to hit regions to the northeast. Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, Guelph, are also under a snow squall watch, as well as areas to the east of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.  

There is a chance that changing wind directions could mean snow squalls for the London region, according to Kretchman. With the northwesterly winds currently anticipated for Thursday, she said the brunt of the lake-effect snow from Lake Huron should miss London. 

“If the wind ends up being more northerly, or out of the north, then it could move into the London area,” she said. “We are keeping an eye on that.”

The forecast calls for cloudy skies and a 40 per cent chance of flurries with wind on Friday and a high of -1 C. Saturday will see more clouds and a 30 per cent chance of flurries and a high of -3 C. Flurries or rain showers on Sunday with a high of 1 C.