The intense winter storm that hit the Waterloo Region on Thursday has finally calmed down.
The coldest air of this season moved in Wednesday night and lingered into Thursday morning. Environment Canada lifted an orange-level snowfall warning for the area by Thursday afternoon as the snowfall started to lessen. More than 25 centimetres of snow is believed to have fallen.
Temperatures are around -12 but feel like -22 due to the wind chill.
“A developing low-pressure system will bring significant snowfall to much of southern Ontario. A sharp temperature drop leading to cold wind chills by Thursday morning, during ongoing snowfall, may add to the adverse weather conditions,” the weather agency had previously stated.
By 11:30 p. m. Wednesday, local weather experts reported about 4 centimetres of snow accumulated in parts of Kitchener.
By 10 a. m. Thursday, the E. D. Soulis Weather Station at the University of Waterloo measured 26 cm of snow.
The combination of snow and sudden temperature drops created hazardous driving conditions for commuters on both Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
The Waterloo Regional Police Service noted that within a span of 24 hours, they responded to 105 crashes on local roads. Many streets remain covered in snow despite the precipitation winding down earlier on Thursday afternoon.
Some callers reaching out to the 570 News Radio newsroom described perilous road conditions with black ice, leading multiple vehicles to slide into medians and even onto sidewalks during the morning rush hour.
Grand River Transit announced a severe weather event on Thursday, resulting in several routes being either detoured or not operational, including ION service.
Ministry of Transportation camera footage shows road conditions on Highway 85 at University Avenue East Thursday morning
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) had warned drivers ahead of the storm: be prepared and avoid travel if possible.
The hazardous road conditions resulted in a full school closure for both students from Waterloo Catholic District School Board and Waterloo Region District School Board on Thursday. Local colleges also closed their doors.
You can catch all traffic and weather updates, along with information about cancellations and closures, on 570 News Radio.
Here we go! Snow is falling and the temperature is dropping. The #OPP would like to remind all drivers to turn ON their entire headlighting system and to drive according to the road and weather conditions. Slow down and drive safely. #WROPP ^es pic. twitter. com/1hpuolq9r S
– OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) January 14, 2026
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