Northwestern Ontario weather for October 22–24: fog advisories, Friday highs up to 22°C, weekend showers and a KN27 bus cancellation due to a driver shortage

THUNDER BAY — Thursday, October 22, 2026 — Allow extra time on the road this morning. Dense fog is affecting parts of Northwestern Ontario, while much of the western region is heading toward Friday temperatures above 20°C. Showers are possible before a sharp cooldown Saturday night.

Fog advisories affect northern highways

Environment and Climate Change Canada issued fog advisories at 4:26 a.m. EDT for Nipigon–Rossport and Geraldton–Longlac–Caramat. The Ontario alert table also lists fog advisories for Marathon–Schreiber, Manitouwadge–Hornepayne, Wawa–Pukaskwa Park and White River–Dubreuilville.

Visibility may fall close to zero in places. ECCC expects the fog covered by the Nipigon and Geraldton advisories to lift by noon. These conditions could affect travel on Highways 11 and 17.

At 6 a.m. EDT, Thunder Bay Airport reported fog and visibility of 200 metres. The temperature was 2.5°C, humidity was 100 per cent and winds were west-northwest at 5 km/h. Pressure was 102.6 kPa and rising. This airport observation does not describe every neighbourhood or highway.

Three-day forecast: October 22–24

The table shows daytime conditions and the forecast high / following overnight low. Temperatures are in Celsius. Grouped communities use ECCC forecast districts; conditions can vary locally.

Sources: ECCC Northern Ontario and Far Northern Ontario public and extended bulletins, issued at 5:30 a.m. EDT October 22.

Winds strengthen Friday

Kenora’s south wind reaches 40 km/h, gusting to 60, late Friday afternoon. Dryden, Red Lake, Fort Frances and Atikokan have Friday gusts to 40 km/h. Sioux Lookout’s southeast wind reaches 30 km/h.

Thursday night brings a 30 to 40 per cent shower chance to several western districts. Friday-night probabilities are 40 per cent across much of the west, 30 per cent around Atikokan and Thunder Bay, and 60 per cent around Pickle Lake. Rainfall totals were not specified in these bulletins.

School bus KN27 cancelled because of driver shortage

The Northwestern Ontario Student Services Consortium’s October 22 current-alerts page lists KN27 as cancelled because of a driver shortage. This is an operational cancellation. No weather-related cancellation was listed in the page retrieved for this report.

Families should check their route in the Consortium’s current alerts or Parent Portal before leaving. An absence of posted weather cancellations does not guarantee that every route or stop will operate.

Western Lake Superior: fog and increasing winds

ECCC’s 3 a.m. EDT marine forecast calls for light winds becoming southeast 10 knots near noon Thursday. Winds increase to south 15 knots Friday morning, then southeast 15 to 20 knots Friday evening. Waves of 0.5 metres or less build to 0.5 to 1 metre Friday morning.

Fog patches are expected to clear Thursday morning, return overnight and clear again Friday morning. Saturday’s outlook calls for south winds of 20 knots increasing to 25 knots in the morning. Check the latest marine bulletin before departure; land forecasts cannot establish safe boating conditions.

Practical advice for the next three days

• Drivers: Use low beams in fog, reduce speed and leave more space. Check Ontario 511 for actual closures and road conditions before longer trips.
• Families: Confirm school-bus arrangements and keep a backup plan for the KN27 cancellation.
• Boaters: Wear a lifejacket, carry communications equipment and reassess plans as winds strengthen Friday and Saturday.
• Outdoor workers: Dress in layers, secure loose materials and plan exposed work around stronger winds.
• Weekend travellers: Pack warm clothing. Saturday-night lows approach or fall below freezing across several inland districts, creating a potential for slippery patches where surfaces remain wet.