Blizzard-like conditions arrive in London region to kick off spell of frigid days

Heavy winds and blizzard-like conditions arrived in the London regionFriday eveningbringing with them warnings from police and weather officials.

Environment Canadaissued a winter weather travel advisory for the London area Friday evening, and police warned motorists ofhazardous winter driving conditions.

"Drivers need to leave time for their travel, and roombetween them and other vehicles so they can see properly and making sure that their entire headlight systems are on," OPP Const. Ed Sanchuktold CBC News from the side of Hwy. 401.

"Snow tires are only as good as the driver.I've seen pickup truck driving like it's 90 degreesout tonight, and those individuals will normally end up in the ditch."

Snow began early in the eveningandquickly became heavy,with peak snowfall rates forecasted to reachup to 5 cm per hour.

During Friday's rush hour and afterward, several collisions were reported across the city by individuals using the Waze GPS app.

Provincial Police in Lambton County reported at least 15 separate weather related collisions.

The snow is forecasted to turn into rain as temperatures warmed up overnight. On Saturday, temperatures are expected to cool again, bringing periods of snow through to Sunday.

Temperatures are forecasted to dip as low as minus 15 C throughout the week starting on Sunday.