The intense winter storm that hit Waterloo Region on Thursday has finally subsided.
The coldest air of the season arrived late Wednesday night and continued into Thursday morning. Environment Canada lifted an orange-level snowfall warning for the region by Thursday afternoon as the snowfall began to lessen. It’s expected that over 25 centimetres of snow accumulated.
Temperatures are around -12 but feel like -22 with 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 previously said.
By 11:30 p. m. Wednesday, local weather experts reported about 4 centimetres of snow in parts of Kitchener.
By 10 a. m. Thursday, the E. D. Soulis Weather Station at the University of Waterloo recorded 26 cm of snow.
The combination of snow and a sudden drop in temperatures created challenging driving conditions for commuters on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.
Waterloo Regional Police Service stated that they responded to 105 crashes on local roadways within a span of 24 hours. Many streets remained snow-covered even after precipitation decreased earlier on Thursday afternoon.
Some callers to the 570 News Radio newsroom described hazardous road conditions with black ice, leading numerous vehicles to slide into medians and even onto sidewalks during the morning commute.
Grand River Transit announced a severe weather event on Thursday, resulting in several routes being detoured or canceled, including ION service.
Ministry of Transportation camera footage of road conditions on Highway 85 at University Avenue East Thursday morning
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) had warned drivers ahead of the storm: to be prepared and avoid traveling if possible.
The dangerous road conditions caused both Waterloo Catholic District School Board and Waterloo Region District School Board to close all schools on Thursday. Local post-secondary institutions are also closed.
The latest traffic and weather updates, including information about cancellations and closures, can be found 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 Keep it Factual
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