You knew it was going to happen sooner than later, and today will bring our first real taste of winter this season. Let's call it an "amuse-bouche" — that's a small hors d'oeuvres to awaken the pallet.

Today's weather system is indeed small, but it only takes a bit of snow to create issues on the roads. The timing — snow is expected to fall during the morning commute — is the real reason it's even an issue.

Since temperatures fell to sub-freezing levels overnight — and yesterday wasn't very warm — you can definitely expect to see the snow sticking on untreated surfaces. No doubt many of us are going to see the lawn become covered by snow.

This won't be our permanent snow cover; it's a bit early for that. Instead, today's snow will melt in the coming days. Even if we see some more snow this week, there will be many above-freezing days between now and Christmas.

Today's weather is caused by a weak system moving across the area withing the jet stream. This system doesn't have a lot of moisture with it, but it does have enough to bring some snow and rain.

Over Cape Cod and the islands, as well as parts of the south shore, you can expect rain or mixed rain and snow. With temperatures there near or above freezing, any falling snow won't stick.

The highest snowfall amounts will be west of Route 128 and north of the Mass. Pike. In those areas, up to 2 inches may fall. Of course, some spots might go just a wee bit higher. In Boston, we'll see somewhere between a coating and an inch of snowfall. It's not likely Logan Airport sees an inch, but it's not out of the question.

Some snowfall is likely for many areas Monday morning (Dave Epstein/WBUR)

Sunshine returns tomorrow with seasonably chilly air. Two more weather systems bring some light rain and snow midweek. Neither of the weather systems seems very significant — just nuisance stuff.

The coldest air of the season arrives this weekend. The ground is going to continue to freeze as temperatures stay under the 32 mark for at least a day or two.

You can follow my weather updates on Twitter at @growingwisdom.

Monday: Morning snow or snow and rain mixed. A coating to 2 inches across the area, little to nothing on Cape Cod. Highs 35-40.

Monday Night: Clearing and cold. Lows 24-31.

Tuesday: Partly sunny, seasonably chilly. Highs in the upper 30s to around 42.

Wednesday: A bit of snow, rain or sleet, not a big storm. Highs in the lower 40.

Thursday: Some rain and snow showers. Highs in the low to mid-40s.

Friday: A mix of clouds and sunshine. Highs in the upper 30s.