Heavy Snowfall Hits Waterloo Region This Weekend

This past Sunday, Waterloo region experienced an early taste of winter as a record-setting snowfall covered much of southwestern Ontario.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement on Friday, warning that a low-pressure system was expected to bring heavy snow to the area.

The snow fell throughout Sunday from Windsor to Ottawa, causing chaos on the roads and delivering snowfall levels in Waterloo region that haven’t been seen in a hundred years.

Record-Breaking Snowfall

Meteorologist Rob Kuhn from Environment Canada shared on X that the last time such a significant snowfall occurred on November 9 was nearly a century ago.

Kitchener saw about 14 centimeters of snow on Sunday, according to Kuhn, who noted that the previous record of 10.2 centimeters was set in both 1921 and 1933.

New daily snowfall record for 09-Nov in Kitchener: 14.0 cm. Previous record 10.2 cm set in 1921 and 1933. #onstorm #onwx

-Kuhny Rob

Meanwhile, the Eric D. Soulis Weather Station at the University of Waterloo tracked snowfall amounts every two hours.

By 10 a. m. ET on Sunday, six centimeters had already accumulated. The final update late Sunday night at 11 p. m. reported a total of thirteen centimeters had fallen.

Tow Truck Drivers Busy During Storm

The season’s first winter storm made driving treacherous and kept tow truck driver James Michael busy.

“Today’s been pretty crazy,” Michael told .

“The roads are wet and all it takes is for everyone to crash. It’s just a little slippery.”

Sgt. Kerry Schmidt from Ontario Provincial Police mentioned there were numerous collisions reported across provincial roads and highways.

“In the last 24 hours, the OPP here in the GTA responded to about 220 collisions,” said Schmidt.

“In addition to another 120 or so incidents where vehicles were in the ditch or stuck and we were not able to attend. So a very busy 24 hours.”

The Waterloo Regional Police Service recorded forty-five motor vehicle collision reports across the region within just one day.

Both regional police and OPP are reminding drivers to take extra precautions when driving during winter weather.

Police advice includes:

Reducing speed and increasing following distance. Ensuring vehicles are equipped with winter tires. Clearing snow and ice from all windows, mirrors and lights before driving.

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