A spring storm blanketing southern Ontario brought six centimetres of snow to Waterloo region and Wellington County Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning.
Environment Canada issued a winter weather travel advisory for Waterloo-Wellington and much of southern Ontario on Monday.
Snowfall rates were expected to peak at up to 3 cm/hr, with visibility being significantly reduced at times due to heavy snow, said the weather agency.
"I don't know how much snow we're going to get, but I really hope it's not going to be very deep, because I just switched my tires and I got rid of my winter jack already," said resident Stephen Noble. "It's Canada. It's four seasons in one week."
Showers could be seen turning into snow late afternoon in Waterloo region before heavier snowfall continued throughout the evening.
"It's not enough to go skiing, it's just enough to dampen it down a bit," said resident Bob Nally.
Some residents, however, appreciated the novelty of the springtime snowstorm.
"This is my first snow experience," said Akash Vailbum. "I didn't expect this and I'm wearing a jacket so I can protect myself from the winter.
"I have to get used to it. This is baby steps for my future."
UNCOMMON BUT NOT UNHEARD OF
Environment Canada's Rob Kuhn measured six centimeters of new snow in the region from the snowstorm. He calls April snowstorms uncommon but not unheard of, pointing to snowfalls of 6.1 centimetres on April 15, 2018, 12 centimetres on April 17, 1965, and 12 centimetres on May 9, 1923.
"We normally get one or two measurable snowfalls in April, certainly the first half to say the least, so this is not anything out of the ordinary and even for mid-April it's rare, but it does happen," said Kuhn. "We've had measureable snowfalls in May that are over 10 centimetres that are on record.
"It's just the big swings. The Arctic air from the north gets down here and it gets pushed out and when the battle zone goes back and forth we certainly deal with all kinds of weather."
Kuhn expects the latest dusting of snow to melt in a day or two, with recent warmer temperatures already warming up the ground.
MESSY CONDITIONS FOR MOTORISTS
Provincial police responded to a crash just outside London in Elgin County at Highway 401 Westbound near union road Monday afternoon.
Police said it involved three vehicles, including a transport truck and an SUV and at one point one of the vehicles was in flames.
Only minor injuries were reported.
Police said the weather conditions will be part of the investigation, although the cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
Acting sergeant Ed Sanchuk said with the quickly changing road conditions, it’s important to be prepared, especially if you've already changed out your winter tires.
“If you're like a lot of people who changed out their winter tires and put on their all season winter tires, unfortunately Mother Nature is not being too cooperative today,” Sanchuk said.
“If you are heading out, make sure to reduce your speed, drive according to the road and weather conditions, make sure you have your entire headlight system on, signal your turns and check your blind spots.”
Snowfall is expected to taper off into flurries through Tuesday.
