Snow problem: Crews say it could take 2 weeks or more to clear snow in K-W
Environment Canada says Waterloo region saw roughly 30 cm of snow fall over long weekend
Weather officials are confirming Waterloo region likely saw roughly 30 cm of snow fall during this past weekend's winter storm, and it could take more than two weeks to clear it all away.
Environment Canada meteorologist Gerald Cheng told CBC News there was a volunteer who reported the 30 cm around Roseville in North Dumfries.
"That's quite consistent with what we saw at Pearson Airport in Toronto [which was] 25 cm. So this was certainly an impactful storm," said Chen.
He explained that his weather agency gets their snow data from stations manned by Nav Canada, the air traffic control organization.
"Sometimes, that's not enough. So we rely on volunteers to report snow so that we know what's going on with these storms."
Waterloo region has seen significant snowfall in the last week following another weather system that moved through the area on Thursday.
Chen says the back-to-back storms aren't surprising to him because we're currently in La Nina, as opposed to El Nino like we were last winter.
"Oftentimes during El Nino, winters get warm Pacific warmth stretching across B.C. and into the prairies and that pattern could stretch into southwestern Ontario. So we expected an above-normal winter last year. However, we don't have that anymore," Chen explained.
That, paired with the sub-zero temperatures, have caused the perfect storm.
Snow clearing efforts
Residents may still be shoveling their way out but cleanup efforts are also continuing by cities within Waterloo region.
In both Kitchener and Waterloo, city officials estimate it could take at least two weeks to fully remove all the snow from area streets and sidewalks.
Meanwhile, Cambridge officials confirmed they anticipate cleanup efforts will continue into next week.
"Cars parked on streets and snow being shoveled onto the road has posed a challenged for snow removal efforts," said a Cambridge spokesperson.
Snow cleaning teams are also prioritizing school zones, intersections, narrow streets and other impacted locations.
"We've had record snowfall in just a few days," said Bob Henderson, Waterloo's director of transportation services. "Crews have been working around the clock through the holiday weekend and will continue to do so until the network is fully addressed.
According to a media release sent by the City of Waterloo, snow clearing crews are also working to address city-maintained sidewalks and intersection crossings but are facing challenges due to the amount of snow and limited space.
Loading and hauling process
While the majority of the plowing has been done on major routes, crews will now be focusing on loading and hauling the snow to storage areas.
"With temperatures where they are, the snow isn't going anywhere unless we haul it away. Clearing and hauling snow is labour intensive, and if we get additional snow, we'll be forced to pause those operations to clear roads again," said Henderson.
The snow will be taken to a storage facility in north Waterloo. The city also stores snow on site premises such as parking lots and recreational centres.
"We're currently monitoring capacity at our current storage facility and are currently working with others developing contingency plans if we reach capacity limits," said a Waterloo spokesperson.
In Kitchener, snow is taken to a storage facility on Battler Road.
Their snow loaders are now working on critical infrastructure like bridge decks, LRT, main roads and arterials, and GRT routes.
In an emailed release, the City of Kitchener explained that the process of snow loading requires up to 30 pieces of equipment per crew and will remove up to 400 tri-axle dump truck loads of snow during the process.
"We anticipate it will take weeks to complete snow loading activities," reads the release. "We have not had any substantial melts this winter, so the snow that started to fall in December is still with us."
Kitchener and Waterloo's significant weather events and snow events/parking bans, initially declared on Saturday, have been extended until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday.
Cambridge says on its website that a significant weather event continues until further notice.
Snowy safety tips
As crews continue to work away, Kitchener officials are reminding residents of the following safety measures:
- When pulling out of driveways or moving around snowbanks, we ask the community to take extra care as visibility may be limited and they may not be able to see pedestrians on sidewalks or cars travelling down the road.
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When driving, we encourage everyone to do so according to the conditions. Drivers may not be able to see pedestrians trying to cross the street or other drivers pulling out of their driveways.
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Residents should remind children not to make forts in snowbanks near roads for their safety.
Chen of Environment Canada is also warning drivers about the risks of travelling with quickly changing conditions.
"With cold air mass in place for days on end, especially around Kitchener and Waterloo, there are big bodies of water so there's lake effect," he said.
"That can cause sudden change in visibility, snow bands and they could make roads very dangerous."
That's a caution that Waterloo regional police are also echoing.
Between Saturday and Monday, regional police say there were 289 property damage collision reported and 12 minor injury collisions.
"People are still coming in to report from last weekend so that number may be higher that what we have at this point," said a police spokesperson.
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