Snow is here to stay in southwestern Ontario, says meteorologist

London, Strathroy and MiddlesexCounty will see widespread accumulating snow starting Monday afternoon and continuing into Tuesday morning,according to Environment Canada's special weather statement.

The weather agency predicts snowfall amounts of 5 to 10 cmbyTuesday morning.

It's not likely there will be a snowfall warning, because those are only issued when at least 15 cmof snow falls within 12 hours.

For the coming week, London's forecast is seeing snow every week day.

Weather will continue to be monitored for any updates.

If you're travelling out of London to other regions insouthwestern Ontario on Monday evening, be prepared for snow as a special weather statement is also in effect for Windsor, Chatham-Kent, Essex County, Kitchener, Wellington County and Hamilton.

Here to stay

Early last month, snow squall warnings were issued briefly in the London area. Meteorologist Rob Kuhn said this week's snowfall is the first taste of winter as the snow is here to stay.

• Winter is ... here! Snow squall watch issued for London area

"Now that it's mid-December is the start of more consistent winter weather so this snowfall should whiten everybody up," he said. "It looks like a fairly consistent spell of seasonably cold early winter weather."

Kuhn said Monday's early evening commuters will be affected by the snow, especially where roads are untreated. He said visibility will be low at times.

"Folks should be prepared for poor winter driving conditions," he said, "Basically just take your times where you're getting to."

"People seem to forget that if it hasn't snowed for a while that driving in winter conditions is totally different than driving in the summer," he said.