A blast of old man winter has hit much of the island with watches and warnings across the board.

Snow and blustery conditions on the west coast have prompted school closures and has made for tricky driving conditions.

A snow squall watch has been issued for the Avalon, south and southwest coasts for today and into tonight.

It’s also going to be a chilly one as Newfoundland and Labrador plunges into the same deep freeze as the rest of North America as a polar air mass descends from the Arctic.

Temperatures in some areas reached into spring-like double digits yesterday, but the warm weather will be pushed out throughout the day today.

By this evening the mercury is expected to dip into the minus double digits and last through the better part of the week according to Environment Canada meteorologist David Neil.

He says daytime highs will be in the -6 to -8 degree range across most of the island until late this week, with the possibility of pushing into the weekend as well.