Police warn motorists to drive cautiously amid flash freeze warning

An Environment Canada flash-freeze warning has police advising the public to drive carefully, or better yet, to stay at home altogether.

Environment Canada spokesman Geoff Coulson said because of the mix of rain and snow last night and an expected cold front moving in Thursday afternoon, road conditions will likely be icy by Thursday night.

"Anything out there right now that’s still a bit wet from the recent rain could freeze up quite quickly," Coulston said. "That cold temperature trend is going to continue right into the evening hours and overnight."

A cold front from the west is expected to bring temperatures as low as –13 C. That’s a significant drop from Thursday morning when temperatures were as warm as 2C said Coulston.

"Once this current low pressure system does pull off a bit to the north, that is going to allow that cold air to come flooding in," said Coulston.

And once that cold is here, OPP traffic staff Sgt. Ken Mantey is urging people to leave unnecessary errands for another day to avoid the slippery road conditions.

"If you don’t’ have to be out there please stay home and enjoy the evening at home where it’s warm, " he said.

If driving is an absolute must, Mantey said he’s hoping people drive according to conditions to avoid accidents. Slowing down while approaching stop signs, reducing speed and leaving lots of space between vehicles can help Mantey said.

"If everybody drives appropriately we won’t have any collisions," he said.

As of Thursday afternoon only two collisions had been reported said Thunder Bay Police Services spokesman Chris Adams but that could change as the temperature drops.

"We are firm believers in saying that you should slow down, take your time if you don’t have to travel when the winter weather strikes such as a storm it’s better to stay home," said Adams.