Over 30 collisions in Waterloo region after first major snowfall

K-W residents react to first snowfall Many people woke up to a winter wonderland Wednesday, but not everyone was excited about it. Tyler Kelaher has more.

The first real snowfall of the season made for a messy drive Wednesday morning across Waterloo region.

As of 11:30 a.m., Waterloo regional police said they had responded to 34 crashes since 5 a.m.

“We are encouraging drivers to clear all snow from their vehicles, to increase following distance and to allow themselves extra travel time to reach their destination,” Const. Melissa Quarrie said in an email.

People out shoveling their driveways had mixed emotions about seeing snow.

“I looked out and said, ‘where did that come from,” Waterloo resident Dale Wood told CTV News.

Kitchener resident Carolyn Melkert said she woke up this morning and said “forget it. I’m going back to bed.”

“And I didn’t get up until 9,” Melkert continued. “I thought ‘if the animals hibernate, I should too!”

Elsewhere in southern Ontario, OPP say there were multiple problems on the northbound Highway 427 near Pearson International Airport where a tractor trailer went into a concrete wall and caused severe damage. The crash blocked multiple lanes for several hours.

On the westbound Hwy 407 to Hwy 401 ramp, a tractor trailer driver lost control and crashed into the rail. The collision blocked the off ramp lanes. Police said cleanup is expected to take hours.

"The roads are wet, the temperatures still right around the freezing mark,” said Sgt. Kerry Schmidt with the Ontario Provincial Police.

Adding: “Most of them single vehicles, most of them just going off the road maybe getting caught in some of the slush.”

According to Environment Canada, eight to 10 centimetres of snow fell across the tri-cities from Tuesday night into Wednesday.

With 15 to 30 centimetres of snow possible in regions along the Lake Huron coastline.

“We are in the firm grip of an Arctic air mass, and that’s going to continue to be with us right through the weekend," said Geoff Couldson, a meteorologist with Environment Canada.

“We could be talking whiteout conditions, a combination of snow and blowing snow, and really hazardous driving conditions over the coming days.” said Couldson.