London Road Conditions and Driving Weather

10 current reports on the interstates around London. The 2 most serious are listed below. Always check with Ontario 511 before setting off.

• Lanes blocked

  Road work on HWY 401 Eastbound

  Continuous Construction on HWY 401 Eastbound On-ramp at Highway 4 / Colonel Talbot Rd, London. ALL LANES CLOSED.

  Eastbound • ON • Until Nov 28, 4:59 AM Details

• Lanes blocked

  Road work on HWY 401 Westbound

  Continuous Construction on HWY 401 Westbound Off-ramp at Highway 4 / Colonel Talbot Rd, London. ALL LANES CLOSED.

  Westbound • ON • Until Nov 28, 4:59 AM Details

Routes out of London

The four ways out of the city that matter in winter, with the distance and the clear-road time measured over openrouteservice, and what each one does to you when the weather turns.

• East on Highway 401 to Woodstock, Kitchener and Toronto — 199 km, about 2 h 30 min on a clear road. Out of the snowbelt through Woodstock — the squall belt lasts to about there — and over the Waterloo moraine to the city. Conditions along the whole of Highway 401.
• West on Highway 401 to Chatham and Windsor — 202 km, about 2 h 40 min on a clear road. Straight into the squall belt: the Chatham-to-London stretch and Carnage Alley west of Tilbury are where the 401's winter pile-ups happen. Conditions along the whole of Highway 401.
• West on Highway 402 to Strathroy and Sarnia — 124 km, about 1 h 30 min on a clear road. The road to the Blue Water Bridge and Michigan, across the flattest, most exposed part of the snowbelt; the 402 closes for whiteouts as the 401 does.
• East on Highway 403 to Brantford and Hamilton — 135 km, about 1 h 40 min on a clear road. The 401 to Woodstock, then the 403 through Brantford to Hamilton and the QEW: out of the Huron snow and into Lake Ontario's.

What makes winter driving hard in London

The Huron snowbelt. When cold north-west air crosses the open water of Lake Huron it picks up moisture and drops it in bands over the land beyond, and London sits under them: 194 cm of snow a year on 60 days at London International, the most of any big city in southern Ontario, with 49 cm in January alone. The bands are narrow and move, so the city can be under a whiteout while Woodstock, 50 km east, is in sunshine — which is what makes the 401 and the 402 west of the city the most-closed highways in the province.

It is not a cold city — January averages −5.6 °C, the same as Toronto — so the snow comes wet and heavy and is followed by thaw: 19 January days below freezing, eight freezing-rain days between December and February, and a freeze-thaw cycle that puts ice under the next snowfall.

Highways 401 and 402 are the Province's and are reported on Ontario 511; the City of London's classes cover Highbury, Wellington, Oxford, Dundas and the streets.

Snow and ice by month in London

Thirty-year normals from Environment and Climate Change Canada's station at London International Airport, 10 km from the city centre. Averages for 1981–2010; a normal month, not this month.

Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010, station LONDON INT'L AIRPORT (6144475), 278 m, through the MSC GeoMet API.

Municipal snow clearing in London

The City of London clears by class. Class 1 routes — Highbury Avenue, Wellington Road, Exeter Road, Fanshawe Park Road — and Class 2 — Southdale Road, Oxford Street, Dundas Street, Wharncliffe Road — come first: salt trucks with plow attachments are out on the main roads after 5 cm or less, and crews clear them within 12 hours. Plows are out on local streets after 10 cm, cleared within 24 hours; sidewalks after 8 cm, within 48. Highways 401 and 402 are the Province's.

Parking bans

From 15 November to 31 March overnight street parking is restricted; a resident can register up to 15 free overnight passes a winter per licence plate, valid on most City streets. The City asks that nobody park on the road during or shortly after a snowfall.

The current plan, the map of routes and any ban in force are on london.ca, winter maintenance ↗, which is where this section was read.

Provincial rules that apply in London

Ontario has no winter tire law. The province recommends them — its winter driving page says they improve traction in frost, snow and ice and shorten braking distances by as much as 25% — and requires insurers to offer a discount to drivers who fit them, and that is the whole of the rule. Studded tires are the exception: legal on vehicles registered in Northern Ontario, not in the south.

The full rule, with its sources, is on the Ontario page. What is closed right now is on Ontario 511 ↗.

Related roads

London Winter Driving FAQ

Why does London get so much more snow than Toronto?

Lake Huron. Cold north-west air crossing the open lake picks up moisture and drops it as snow squalls over the land downwind, and London is downwind: 194 cm a year on 60 days at London International against Toronto Pearson's 108 cm on 44, on the 1981–2010 normals. The squalls are narrow and local, which is why the 401 west of the city closes when the rest of the province is dry.

How often is the 401 closed near London?

Every winter, several times, between Chatham and Woodstock, for whiteout pile-ups: on 10 December 2025 the OPP responded to 400 crashes in southwestern Ontario in one morning and the westbound 401 closed twice inside London. A snow squall warning from Environment Canada for Middlesex or Chatham-Kent is the signal.

When are London's streets plowed?

Main roads — Highbury, Wellington, Oxford, Dundas and the other Class 1 and 2 routes — get salt trucks with plows after 5 cm or less and are cleared within 12 hours. Local streets are plowed after 10 cm and cleared within 24 hours; sidewalks after 8 cm within 48.

Do I need winter tires in London, Ontario?

Not by law, but in the Huron snowbelt they are the norm: Ontario has no winter tire requirement, recommends them, and requires every insurer to offer a discount to a driver who fits them. Studded tires are not permitted on a vehicle registered in London.

How long is London to Toronto in winter?

About 200 km and 2 h 30 min on a clear road as openrouteservice measures it, downtown to downtown on Highway 401. The first 60 km to Woodstock are the squall belt; a whiteout there adds hours or closes the road.