Sloppy driving and cold temperatures as snow returns

Watch out, commuters: winter’s back, and so are slippery roads.

Snow started falling over Toronto and the GTA Monday afternoon, bringing a special weather statement from Environment Canada with it. Five to 10 cm is expected to fall across southern Ontario on Monday as a cold front moves across the region.

“Poor winter driving conditions from low visibility in snow and accumulating snow on untreated roads have developed,” said Environment Canada in a special weather statement Monday. “Motorists should allow extra time to reach their destination.”

The City of Toronto issued an extreme cold weather alert just after 7:30 a.m., activating extra services to help the city’s most vulnerable. The alert will remain in effect until further notice, a statement on the City of Toronto website read.

The temperature is predicted to drop to an overnight low of -11 C, which could feel as cold as -18 C with the windchill by Tuesday morning.

York, Durham, Halton and Peel regions are also affected by the weather statement, with Halton and Peel under a warning for heavy snowfall from Environment Canada. In Burlington and Oakville, as much as 10 to 12 cm of snow is expected.

The snow was expected to taper off late Monday night as the weather system moves southeast, Environment Canada said.

Though the wintry weather may seem like a dramatic change from the weekend’s mild temperatures, it’s far from record-breaking. The most snow to fall on Jan. 29 in Toronto since 1938 was 16 cm in 1947, according to Environment Canada.