Snow and bittrer cold are predicted to continue in southern Ontario through the rest of the week. (CBC)

Snow squalls and difficult driving conditions are continuing in many parts of southern Ontario, while the north shivers in bone-chilling cold.

Environment Canada says the bitter cold and squalls will likely continue the rest of the week.

The Niagara region, and snow belts around Lake Huron and Georgian Bay are still digging out after getting as much as 30 centimetres of snow on Sunday.

And the paper work at collision centres and police stations may be as high as some snow drifts after hundreds of accidents were reported.

Provincial police said they received hundreds of calls about incidents involving motorists by Sunday morning alone, and their phones rang off the hook for the rest of the day.

"They're not coming in one at a time, they're coming in four, five and six at a time," Sgt. Dave Woodford said about the number of calls OPP officers responded to throughout the day.

By Sunday afternoon, Woodford said it was too difficult to calculate how many accidents emergency officials had responded to, but conditions were so treacherous, police were urging motorists to stay home.

"It's treacherous conditions. We're seeing icy roads, zero visibility, and hundreds and hundreds of crashes," he said.

All major highways were affected by the weather, including the 401, 400 and 403.

The Queen Elizabeth Way in Niagara Falls and Highway 26 near Stayner were closed for several hours as police cleared away wrecks.