Day two of a three-day system blanketing southern Ontario has already brought the heaviest snowfall so far this season, with a snowstorm blanketing much of Waterloo Region.
Strong winds blew in up to 25 cm of snow in some areas of Waterloo Region by 3:30 a.m., with more snow expected over the next 24 hours.
A weather alert from Environment Canada has since been upgraded to an orange level, calling for extremely hazardous travel conditions.
From 10 p.m. Thursday night through 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.
The orange warning from Environment Canada also warns of intense snowfall rates of 5 to 10 cm per hour and near-zero visibility in 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.
All cancellations and closures in Waterloo Region can be found here.
