Multiple collisions on snow-covered roads in southern Ontario have led police to close highways Friday and remind drivers to slow down.

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) were reporting several collisions that had either closed highways or were slowing traffic significantly including:

• Eastbound Hwy. 401 from Guelph Line to Milton.
• Westbound Hwy. 401 from Cedar Creek Road near Cambridge to Woodstock was closed Friday around 12:15 p.m., “due to multiple collisions and poor weather and road conditions.”
• Westbound Hwy. 403 in Norwich Township.
• Eastbound Hwy. 402 at Wonderland Road S. in London was closed from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., “due to a multi-vehicle collision and poor road conditions.”
• Perth Line 20 between Perth Road 164 and Perth Road 163 is closed due to a vehicle that has blocked the roadway resulting from bad road and weather conditions.
• Hwy. 8 in West Perth due to a collision.

“The winter weather’s back and, well, so are the collisions,” OPP Sgt. Ed Sanchuk said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, posted from the Hwy. 402 collision.

“The OPP right now here in west region across southwestern Ontario are responding to multiple collisions in various communities and our local highways.”

Sanchuk says Friday’s snowy weather led to slippery road conditions and he reminded drivers to drive according to the weather conditions.

“The roadways are snow covered and in certain cases ice covered. They’re slick [and] slippery so we need people to slow down, leave enough time, room and distance between you and other vehicles, turn your entire headlighting system on and please reduce your speed,” he said.

Earlier in the day, OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt posted a video to X from Hwy. 401 and said, “Mother Nature’s not done with us yet.”

He said snow was impacting driving across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area resulting in a number of collisions.

Environment and Climate Change Canada issued a special weather statement for a large swath of southern Ontario from Windsor up to Tobermory and across Toronto to south of Ottawa for heavy snow. A wind warning was also in effect for parts of the same area.

Some areas were expecting up to 15 cm of snow and winds up to 110 km/h.

The weather statement warned heavy snow and blowing snow could lead to low visibility.

A winter storm warning was in effect for the area including Grand Bend, Exeter, Stratford, Wingham, Lucknow and Port Elgin.