It's back ....

For some, it's like a Halloween horror movie – small, cold, terrifying flakes falling from the sky, taking over the land and causing mayhem for traffic.

For others, it's more like a beloved feel-good holiday movie – a sign of the coming season, when they can get out their skis, snowboards or sleds and go play in the snow.

This morning, Whitehorse residents awoke to that first major snowfall of the year, their vehicles and decks covered in the white stuff.

Well before many residents dug out those winter boots, snowsuits and dusted off their vehicles to leave or walked to the bus stop to get a lift, crews were out plowing roads throughout the city and in parts of the territory which experienced the snowfall.

"We had a night crew out already,” Gord Smith, the city's transportation supervisor, said. A sander/plow was on the streets of Whitehorse at 5 a.m., when the snow started falling.

Another was sent out at 5:30 a.m. and another put on the streets at 7 a.m.

A couple of graders were also added to the mix later in the morning as the snow continued to fall, as it did into the early afternoon.

As Smith said, with snow generally making its first appearance any time in October, work is done in September to make sure all the winter equipment is ready for the coming season.

"We have crews ready to go,” he said.

Similarly, Alicia Debreceni, a Department of Highways and Public Works spokeswoman, said territorial crews have been ready to go and were out clearing roads by 7 a.m. throughout the territory where necessary.

Debreceni pointed to the 511yukon.ca as a place where Yukoners can get current road conditions before they travel.

She also said today's snowfall serves as a reminder to drive according to weather conditions and safely, respecting snow clearing equipment that may be on the roads as well.

While the city has things all set to go in September, there seemed to be little doubt from the traffic levels that the weather caught many off-guard.

For example, there were long lines of vehicles heading downtown and in and out of Riverdale, moving at a crawl.

"I think the first snowfall is always a shock,” said Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald, noting the timing of the first snowfall is "not out of line.”

Last year, for example, the first winter snowfall to stay on the ground came around the week of Oct. 12.

Historically, MacDonald pointed out, July is the only month that has never seen a snowfall in Whitehorse, with the earliest snowfall being recorded on Aug. 1, 1948, when almost nine cm fell.

By mid-morning, five centimetres of snow had been recorded in Whitehorse, with eight cm in Teslin.

MacDonald's colleague, meteorologist Doug Lundquist, later noted that it is the time of year where it's a struggle to determine whether precipitation will come in the form of rain or snow.

Today's snow was expected to taper off to flurries by midday. It was then expected to warm up to about 3C and be mainly sunny tomorrow, with more precipitation expected for Friday and Saturday.

Currently, Environment Canada has forecast rain on Friday and both rain and snow on Saturday.

Whether it rains or snows, Lundquist said, it's time for Yukoners who haven't done so to put their winter tires on their vehicles.

Whitehorse RCMP were delivering the same message after being called to three collisions this morning as a result of the weather conditions.

There were a number of other calls from vehicles which had slid off the road.

Const. Dean Hoogland said every officer who was available ended up on the roads responding to the calls.

In one case, a vehicle driving along Alsek Road in Riverdale slid into the back of a school bus.

There were other minor collisions downtown and on Lewes Boulevard in Riverdale.

Two vehicles slid off the road at Robert Service Way near the Robert Campbell Bridge heading into Riverdale. Another vehicle went off the road at Grayling Place.

A number of vehicles which didn't happen to hit anything could be seen in various spots around the city slowly sliding to a stop as drivers attempted to control their vehicles in the snow and icy conditions.

Hoogland said the RCMP are advising drivers to slow down, take it easy and allow for extra time to get to a destination in such conditions. If vehicle owners don't have proper tires, the vehicles shouldn't be driven, he said.

As Whitehorse Transit manager Cheri Malo pointed out, while the buses were running behind schedule this morning, they do provide a safe alternative to driving personal vehicles.

There was no average for how far behind schedule buses were, she said, noting it really depended on the route.

In Riverdale, for example, there were some runs that were missed.

Like all vehicles in the neighbourhood, "We couldn't get in and we couldn't get out.”

Passengers understood the situation, Malo said, noting they could see the heavy level of slow-moving traffic and how it was holding things up.

The buses, she noted, had a role to play in relieving some of the traffic.

Imagine what the traffic would have been like, she said, if those 30 people on a bus from Riverdale were each driving vehicles.

Other routes saw buses running closer to their schedules, with the transit department "doing our absolute best” to keep time while also keeping passengers safe.

"We have some amazing drivers out there,” Malo said, noting that by mid-morning, the system was "back on track.”

Meanwhile, the snowfall is a welcome sign of the coming season for the two ski facilities in the city.

It comes just a day after the Friends of Mount Sima announced the ski hill would open for the 2013/2014 winter season after a major pledge and sponsorship drive was held to see if it could reopen after it shut down last July.

This morning, Laurie Henderson, the Friends of Mount Sima's president, said she is hopeful the snowfall will get more people thinking of the coming ski season and, if they haven't, buy a season's pass before prices rise after Oct. 31.

There is ongoing work at the hill, she said, to get ready for a proposed Dec. 20 opening. (See editorial, p. 8.)

Meanwhile, at the Whitehorse Cross Country Ski Club, manager Mike Gladish and operations manager Jan Polivka met this morning and considered whether to pack the snow falling on the trails.

As Gladish pointed out, if it's going to warm up significantly to a point that the snow will melt, it may not be worthwhile, but a slight warming may make it worth it because packing can preserve the base.

Essentially, he noted, today's snowfall means club officials "have to sit and look at the weather.”

It's expected there will be some trails packed tonight.

Just when the club is aiming to start the season remains to be seen.

Gladish noted the club doesn't set a date, and it won't recommend recreational skiing before there's a good base on the ground.

The earliest he's seen trails groomed and the club opened for recreational skiing was around Oct. 18, while the latest opening happened at Christmas. Generally, though, the trails open for skiing by the first week of November.

"You can never be sure,” he said. "We never have an official opening day.”

Today's snow will hopefully get people thinking about the ski season and the upcoming ski swap set for Saturday, he added. The annual swap serves as the ski club's first major event of the winter season.

"(The snow's) a good marketing tool,” he said.