Southern Ontario hit with freezing rain, strong winds and snow squalls

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'Don't think you're out of the woods': Environment Canada issues warnings about freezing rain

Wacky weather could cause power outages, dangerous conditions for Canadians

TIMELAPSE: Blowing snow in Kitchener-Waterloo

Big blast of winter weather

Winter wallop hits Waterloo Region

Southern Ontario is ending 2025 with a big blast of winter.

It started with freezing rain on Sunday that caused power outages across the province.

One resident in Waterloo Region said his hydro went out just after 5 p.m.

“It did not come back on in our area until 2:46 a.m.,” Jim told CTV News. “It was very eerie. I didn’t sleep.”

Enova Power’s map still showed more than a dozen outages on Monday afternoon.

“Crews worked through the night and have restored power to most customers,” a message on their website said.

According to Hydro One, the province’s largest electric utility, 61,000 of their customers were left in the dark after the storm downed hydro lines.

Sunday’s hockey game at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium was also impacted by the power outage.

Fans told CTV News the disruption happened with only two minutes remaining in the third period of a tied game between the Kitchener Rangers and Erie Otters.

“All of the sudden it went totally dark,” said one.

“So many people had their phones it actually lit up the rink,” explained another.

The game was paused for a short time before the action resumed. The Rangers ended up beating the Otters by a final score of 5-3.

Environment Canada said a new record was set in Waterloo Region with 43.2 mm of rainfall on Dec. 28. The previous record of 39.9 mm dated back to 1946.

The rain was also a concern for flood-prone areas.

“We have issued a flood warning for the Nith River watershed, as well as Upper Conestoga,” said Katelyn Lynch at the Grand River Conservations Authority (GRCA). “Those flood watches remain in effect as water levels are continuing to rise.”

While the GRCA does not expect major flooding, they are urging people and their pets to stay away from bodies of water.

“Ice conditions can change very quickly during these freeze-thaw conditions,” Lynch said. “With the water levels rising, it can create unstable and unsafe ice.”

Sunday’s rain was followed by blowing snow and squalls on Monday.

Strong gusts, which Environment Canada said would range from 70 to 90 km/h, knocked scaffolding over in Waterloo.

The agency also predicted 10 to 20 cm of snow, and even up to 50 cm in some parts of the province.

That, combined with wind, created dangerous conditions on the roads.

“Early on this morning, officers responded to multiple vehicles colliding, or in the ditch,” said Const. Evan Polini with Perth County OPP. “It doesn’t look very good. The weather continues to change.”

Several vehicles went into a ditch near New Hamburg and Shakespeare.

“You may encounter areas where there’s near-zero visibility and areas that have extremely icy conditions,” Polini warned.

Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo and Wilmot Township all issued parking bans on Monday in response to the additional snowfall. Drivers are asked not to park on city or township-owned streets to allow plows to clear the roads.

Enova Power, meanwhile, said crews continue to make repairs.

“Snow squalls and high winds are in the forecast,” they wrote on their website. “More weather-related power outages are expected. Crews are available to respond.”

The forecast is not expected to improve over the next few days.

“While there’s no major storm… we’ll still see some lake effect,” said Gerald Cheng, a meteorologist for Environment Canada. “But we’ll be stuck with the below freezing temperatures for New Year’s Eve.”