Intense snow squalls battering Ontario moved south Sunday after burying some parts of the province under more than a metre of snow, stranding people on roadways and prompting one town to declare a state of emergency.

Gravenhurst, a town in Ontario’s Muskoka region, declared a state of emergency after 140 centimetres of snow caused the prolonged closing of a highway and limited emergency services

Gravenhurst, a town in Ontario’s Muskoka region hit with around 140 centimetres of snowfall, has declared a state of emergency in response to a prolonged highway closure and limited emergency services.

The weekend's lake effect snowstorm dumped 4 to 5 feet of snow in higher terrain in communities to the east of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo. With the highest recorded storm total of 65.

"One to two feet southeast of Lake Erie, so that's primarily going to be Chautauqua and Cattaraugus County, and for southern Erie County ... two to three feet northeast of Lake Ontario, so primarily the Watertown area up to Fort Drum,