Friday freeze results in lots of collisions, flood warnings
After mild spell, ‘we’ve had rain, we’ve had freezing rain and we’ve had snow’
WATERLOO REGION — Balmy temperatures came to a frigid end in Waterloo Region on Friday, causing traffic accidents and flood warnings.
A flash freeze dropped temperatures into the negatives by early afternoon.
“A really, really sharp cold front is in the process of crossing southern Ontario,” said Geoff Coulson, a warning-preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada.
“We’ve gone from very, very mild temperatures — record breaking in some cases across different parts of southern Ontario (Thursday) — to falling below freezing.”
Roads, highways and walkways that were covered in melting snow Friday morning were slippery with ice by the afternoon, prompting cautionary safety messages from authorities.
“Please slow down, clean off your vehicle, turn on your lights to ensure you’re visible, leave extra space between yourself and the vehicle in front of you, and drive according to the winter road conditions,” Waterloo Regional Police said on Twitter.
At 3 p.m. police were in the process of responding to 25 separate collisions across the region, many of which were weatherrelated, said Cherri Greeno, media relations co-ordinator for the Waterloo Regional Police.
Ontario Provincial Police were also busy with calls across Highway 401. At 4 p.m., there were about 40 crashes across the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding areas, OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said in a social media post.
“It is a messy drive right now, we’ve had rain, we’ve had freezing rain and we’ve had snow,” he said.
One of those collisions was on the west-
bound 401 in Cambridge, at Highway 8 at Shantz Hill Road. A transport truck jackknifed and collided with another vehicle, resulting in minor injuries.
The Grand River Conservation Authority expanded its flood warning to encompass the entire Grand River watershed and extended into the weekend.
“Over the past few days we’ve received quite a bit of rainfall and some relatively high temperatures that caused both snow melt to occur and … run-off from the rainfall going into the rivers,” said Cameron Linwood, GRCA spokesperson.
“What compounds this is the amount of ice in the river at the moment.”
Thick ice on the river started to break up during the midweek thaw and could result in ice jams in areas along the river.
Linwood also warns that with the return of cold temperatures, residents need to take safety measures when they are close to the river.
“It is certainly exciting for people to see the river when it is flowing higher and faster than it normally would be,” he said. “But, especially (with) the way the temperatures have dropped today, those river banks are going to be really slippery and that water is extremely cold.”
For Kitchener Utilities, the changes in weather this month have contributed to 11 water main breaks as of Friday, said Tammer Gaber, manager of operations. Frost can aggravate weak spots in pipes, causing bursts.
The average number of breaks for the entire month is about 20.
“It looks like we’re probably going to break the average,” he said, adding that rain absorbed into the ground will now freeze, causing frost to drive deeper.
The freezing temperatures will remain for the next few days. Environment Canada is forecasting a frosty -25 C with the wind chill on Saturday and a high of -12 C during the day on Sunday.