It speaks volumes about Canadians that no matter how many winters we survive, we're always alarmed when the first snow of the year arrives.
It came Thursday afternoon, and while it was limited to just a few flurries in the downtown core - and slightly more in Mississauga and up in the northern part of the city - just the sight of those frosted flakes had many looking for a ticket south.

A cold front that moved into Ontario overnight has seen gradually deteriorating temperatures and left those who weren't prepared shivering in their sandals.

You can't blame them for being surprised by the sudden shift - during the Thanksgiving long weekend just a few short days ago, we were basking in the 20s.

But that was then and the cold reality is that forecasters are now talking about a wind chill for the next few days and more flurries. And it's only the middle of October.

Still, we're getting off easy.

In places ranging from Huntsville to Muskoka, and all the way to Niagara and London, the snow fell fast and some of it stayed on the ground.

That could make for some slick driving and changeable road conditions without much notice. So drivers in those areas are warned to be extra vigilant.

They'll likely be getting more snow off the lake, while we'll just see a few quick squalls that won't last.

Temperatures will hit the freezing mark just about everywhere and you may want to cover up those plants - in some areas it could spawn a killing frost overnight.

The good news is that while winter's coming, it's not actually here yet. Temperatures are expected to rebound to more normal levels, and by the weekend we should be back to the double digits in the G.T.A.

But getting there definitely won't be half the fun.