Is this good? Or bad?

Okay, this is not serious enough to be an official snow warning, but we wanted our readers to know that the warm weather is done and there are snowflurries predicted every day of next seven days.

Here's the latest Environment Canada forecast, followed by a reminder from City Police.

SooToday.com invites our readers to participate in the Snow Poll at the bottom of our home page.

************************* Today

Cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries this morning. Wind northwest 30 km/h becoming light this morning. High plus 3.

Tonight

Cloudy. 40 percent chance of flurries or rain showers. Low plus 1.

Saturday

Cloudy with sunny periods. 40 percent chance of flurries or rain showers early in the morning. 30 percent chance of rain showers or flurries in the evening. High plus 5.

Sunday

Periods of snow. Low minus 2. High plus 2.

Monday

Cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 4. High plus 1.

Tuesday

Cloudy with 30 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 2. High plus 2.

Wednesday

Cloudy with 40 percent chance of flurries or rain showers. Low zero. High plus 3.

Thursday

Cloudy with 40 percent chance of flurries. Low minus 1. High zero.

************************* Drivers adjusting to winter driving conditions

On Thursday the 20th of November, 2008 our city received its first significant snowfall that caused serious traffic concerns.

On that day the snow began to accumulate on our roadways, as it does with the annual onset of winter, and drivers in our city failed to adjust their driving methods for it.

Accordingly, the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service on that day investigated 95 motor vehicle collisions over a 24-hour period.

This was a substantial increase from the normal numbers of daily collisions in the city, which generally does not reach double digits for a 24-hour period.

In looking at the extended weather forecast, it appears that winter will soon be upon us.

Drivers can expect that roadways in our area are going to become more difficult to drive on as cold weather and snow conditions become more prevalent.

Sergeant Trudeau of the traffic services section of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service stated, “Last year during our first snowfall drivers failed to adjust their driving styles. Motorists reporting collisions to the Police Service complained they tried to stop but slid on the snow covered roads into other vehicles. It is the driver’s responsibility to adjust their driving habits to the road conditions.

"Had many of the drivers involved in collisions that first snowfall day a year ago, simply slowed down for the slippery road conditions and increasing their following distances, they could have avoided a lot of the collisions the service investigated.”

The Ministry of Transportation advises motorists that three key elements in safe winter driving are; stay alert, slow down, and stay in control.

Drive according to highway and weather conditions.

Keep a safe distance between you and the vehicle in front of you to avoid situations where you may have to brake suddenly on a slippery surface.

Another measure that drivers and vehicle owners should consider is installing winter tires.

They improve driving safety by providing better traction, braking and handling during frost, snow, slush, and particularly under icy conditions.

Installing four winter tires provides greater control and stability. In the unfortunate event that you find yourself in a motor vehicle collision, please contact the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service at 949-6300.

The Sault Ste Marie Police Service in partnership with Accident Support Services offers a collision reporting service at the Police Services Building Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

*************************