Region recovering from freezing rain, with more winter still on the way
Posted Dec 27, 2025 06:58:45 AM.
Last Updated Dec 27, 2025 06:58:51 AM.
Just after Waterloo Region battled through freezing rain and hazardous road conditions on Boxing Day, it looks like Waterloo Region will get little relief before heavy rain and possible flurries roll back in.
It comes after a special weather statement and a yellow warning for freezing rain were issued throughout the day on Friday, leading to a dangerous drive across much of Southwestern Ontario as many families were returning home from their holiday travel plans.
Heading into Saturday, those roads are still looking fairly hazardous across the region, all after as much as 5 mm of ice accretion built up on those vehicles, those roads, and those sidewalks.
“So what does that mean? Well, that means for anyone operating a motor vehicle to slow down, reduce their speed, and drive according to the road and weather conditions,” said Sergeant Ed Sanchuk with the West Region Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). “Don’t tailgate, don’t pass unsafely, use your signal turns, and turn your entire headlighting system on.”
Already, those snow plows and salt trucks have begun making their rounds throughout Waterloo Region, looking to make those roadways safer as the day continues/
Sanchuk said that, while caution can be a good tool when travelling through those risky and slippery conditions ahead of those roads being fully cleared, one of the easiest things drivers can do is simply slow down.
“We don’t want to be knocking on anyone’s door saying they’ve been seriously injured or killed as a result of a vulnerable crash, so let’s take our foot off that gas pedal,” Sanchuk stated. “Let’s treat roadways like communities because they are communities themselves that we all must share, and let’s just make sure we get home safety to our families.”
More winter weather on the way before 2025 concludes
Looking ahead, the forecast doesn’t improve much for Waterloo Region ahead of the new year.
According to 570’s Weather Specialist Denise Andreacchi, Saturday looks to be fairly mild, with a mix of sun and cloud expected throughout the day, but it’s Sunday, when some more wild weather is set to hit the region.
Andreacchi said the day will begin with some mixed precipitation, along with the risk of more freezing rain through the morning, before temperatures take a sharp rise, hitting a high of 3 C in the afternoon.
She said that that’s when the rainfall will intensify, with as much as 20 to 40 mm expected to come down before the evening comes to a close.
Monday, those heightened temperatures will fall back down, with a high of -3 C and a snowbelt expected to come with it. She said Waterloo Region can expect around 2-4 cm of accumulation throughout the day.
The remainder of the week will see some similar conditions, with scattered flurries expected for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with the average high sitting at around -4 C.
It means 2025 is expected to wrap up with plenty of winter, with optimism still in the air for a milder second half of winter pushing into 2026.
