With more snow in the forecast, Ontario Provincial Police are asking drivers to be careful on the roads after officers responded to more than 200 crashes across Southwestern Ontario on Monday.
Poor driving conditions and unsafe behaviours were to blame for the collisions, the OPP said.
“The good news: No injuries associated with any of those collisions,” said Const. Ed Sanchuk, a spokesperson with the OPP.
“The bad news is that we still have people driving like it’s a sunny, hot day out here.”
One of the crashes involved a school bus in Oxford County, which at the time was carrying 22 students, while a police cruiser was also rear-ended in Brant County as a police officer conducted an investigation, Sanchuk said.
Most of Southwestern Ontario was under a weather advisory Monday that called for snow accumulations of 10 to 15 centimetres throughout the day.
By Tuesday, Environment Canada had issued a new snow squall watch for the London region, warning of possible snow accumulations of 10 to 15 cm per 12 hours starting Tuesday afternoon and continuing Wednesday.
“Travel may be hazardous due to sudden changes in the weather. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow,” the national weather agency said.
A blast of cold arctic air was also expected to pass through the region, making Tuesday’s high a chilly -5 C. That compares to the average daytime high for this time of the year of 7.7 C.
“We are asking people to simply slow down, reduce your speed . . . and please make sure your vehicle is ready for winter with a good pair of winter tires,” Sanchuk said.
The forecast for the rest of the week included flurries and a high of -5 C Wednesday with the chance of more snow at night, a high of 2 C on Thursday and a high of 1 C Friday.