Batten down the hatches, whatever that means: A nasty storm system is headed for Toronto, according to Environment Canada, bringing with it "very heavy downpours" and wind gusts of up to 70 km/h.

The federal weather agency has issued a special weather statement for the City of Toronto and many other parts of Southern Ontario due to a warm, humid, tropical air mass that's currently moving across the region.

"Isolated slow moving thunderstorms with very heavy downpours are expected again this afternoon," reads the advisory, issued just before noon on Wednesday.

"Local rainfall amounts of 20 to 40 mm in an hour or less along with wind gusts to 70 km/h are expected from some of the stronger thunderstorms. Small hail is possible."

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue throughout the late afternoon and end sometime this evening, though you never really can say for certain what the weather is going to do.

Storm forming north of Toronto — radar shows it sitting directly over the 400/407 interchange in Vaughan. Rain and lightning pic.twitter.com/O8qRRWyYON

— 𝘽𝙧𝙮𝙖𝙣 𝙋𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙪𝙢𝙚 (@BryanPassifiume) June 9, 2021

Drivers are warned to watch out for sudden patches of "very low visibility" and flooding on some roads. Environment Canada says that "ponding of water on poorly drained areas of highways from the downpours may result in difficult driving conditions."

But there's good news, too, for people who aren't into this incredibly warm and muggy weather: The heat and humidity currently gripping Toronto are expected to dissipate as the tropical system moves out, making way for dryer, more seasonal conditions as we head into the weekend.

"By Thursday, that drier air will be more widespread, and daytime highs will drop down a bit to the mid-20s for most people, making the day seem considerably less sticky for most," writes the Weather Network of the oncoming temperature shift.

"Near seasonal temperatures are expected this weekend with a threat for showers late-Saturday into Sunday, but it will be mostly rain-free."

Sounds like perfect weather for the reopening of patios on Friday.