Day two of a three-day system blanketing southern Ontario has already brought the heaviest snowfall so far this season, with a snowstorm burying much of Waterloo Region.
Strong winds blew in more than 30 cm snow as of 9 a.m. in some areas of Waterloo Region , with more expected over the next 24 hours.
Rob Kuhn with Environment Canada called it a record amount of lake effect snow locally.
31.0 cm total snow Kitchener Stanley Park as of 9.00 AM. Record highest lake effect snow event here from Lake Huron. Back to shoveling I go. #onstorm #onwx
— Rob Kuhn (@KuhnyRob) November 28, 2025
The weather conditions have cancelled all school buses, taxis and special education routes for both the Waterloo Region District School Board and Waterloo Catholic District School Board.
Find bus cancellations and other closures
A weather alert from Environment Canada was upgraded to an orange level, calling for extremely hazardous travel conditions.
The orange alert warns of intense snowfall rates of 5 to 10 cm per hour and near-zero visibility from blowing snow. Winds are expected to continue gusting up to 80 km/h, with snowfall amounts expected to fluctuate as the storm progresses.
As of Friday morning, the latest number was 40 to 70 cm of snow in some areas through to Saturday morning.
Snow events have since been declared across Waterloo Region, including in Kitchener, and later in the morning, Waterloo issued one of its own. Such events mean no parking on city streets, to allow snow plows full access to clear roadways.
From 10 p.m. Thursday night to early Friday morning, hazardous travel conditions closed all eastbound lanes of Highway 401 through Drumbo.
Traffic callers to the 570 NewsRadio newsroom said traffic was at a complete standstill near Oxford Rd. 29.
One caller said they had been stuck in their vehicle on Highway 401 since 11 p.m. Thursday.
Waterloo regional police are very busy during the latest snowstorm. Since 4 p.m. Thursday, officers were called to 33 collisions, though many of them were said to be minor, with no injuries.
