Snow, cold about to return to Windsor-Essex

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for Windsor and Essex County.

The agency said in a media release that a very sharp Arctic cold front will sweep across Southern Ontario on Monday afternoon and then move into Eastern Ontario this evening.

Temperatures will plunge quite dramatically as a result, Environment Canada said in the statement.

Temperatures are predicted to fall to near freezing or a bit below from Windsor to Toronto.

Monday evening showers will begin to change over to a few centimetres of snow from Lake St. Clair to Georgian Bay on Monday night.

There is also a risk of a few hours of ice pellets or freezing rain.

"It's not unheard of to get snow at this point in April but we'll definitely be looking at the temperature records. We could be seeing some of those tumbling [Tuesday] and Wednesday," said Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist for Environment Canada.

Temperatures will be colder on Tuesday with afternoon values expected to be near or below freezing.

Temperatures will rise closer to normal by the end of the week, with a temperature of 12 C expected Thursday.

"It's not that often that we go from summer to winter, literally in a 24-hour timeframe," Coulson said. "Yes, spring, for sure, can see a lot of variability in temperatures over a short period of time. But this one is a very, very noticeable one, just for the fact that we've been so warm and so mild for the last few days."