This is "snow" joke: Orillia could get hammered with up to 80 centimetres of the white stuff by Sunday.
A major winter storm is expected to hit the region later today, dropping up to 40 centimetres of snow on the area. A second storm is in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday that could duplicate that snowfall.
The February storms continue a pattern that began in December, bringing wave after wave of cold temperatures and heavy snowfalls.
Local amateur weather watcher David Brain said Orillia has been slammed with 370 centimetres of snow this season and is inching toward the record sent in 1995-96 when 477.1 centimetres fell. The normal for a winter season in Orillia is about 282 centimetres. Brain notes Orillia has endured 250 centimetres over the past 42 days.
Homeowners can be excused for being sick of shovelling and wondering where they might pile up the newest accumulations.
It's a problem on a whole different scale for municipalities. In fact the last major storm on Friday, that featured whiteouts and a major pileup on Highway 11, prompted Orillia, Ramara, Severn and Oro-Medonte to a significant weather event.
While those designations have expired, the next few days could prove daunting once again for weary snow-clearing crews.
In a social media post Tuesday, the City of Orillia said civic crews have been working hard to address mountainous snow banks and snow-clogged streets.
"We know it's been a challenging winter with all the snow we’ve had, and we appreciate your patience as we work to keep roads safe and accessible," notes the post.
"Over the next two weeks, (city) crews will be focusing on widening roads and improving visibility in key areas," the post explained.
On Monday night, more than 200 tri-axle truckloads of snow were hauled from Mississaga Street, Coldwater Street, Albert Street, and Andrew Street in the downtown area to "improve visibility and accessibility."
Crews were out last night finishing up in the downtown core.
Over the coming days, crews will work to cut back snowbanks on major arterial roads such as Front Street, Atherley Road, Laclie Street, Coldwater Road, West Street, Colborne Street, Memorial Avenue, University Avenue, Monarch Drive and West Ridge Boulevard.
"We are also inspecting and addressing priority areas where roads are narrowing or sightlines at intersections are blocked," notes the social media post.
Of course, all of that is contingent on the weather and the forecast doesn't appear to be helpful in that regard.