Kitchener and Waterloo extend snow events indefinitely as crews deal with 'unprecedented' amount of snow

Officials in Kitchener and Waterloo say the cities have extended its snow and significant weather event indefinitely as city crews get a handle on the snow that fell during the long weekend.

"Our crews are working around the clock to continue clearing snow across the city," the City of Kitchener said in a release late Wednesday.

"While snow clearing operations have been underway consistently, the snow accumulation from multiple back-to-back significant snowfalls means that the city requires more time to clear the snow from roads and address large snowbanks across the city with snow loading activities."

During a snow event, people are prohibited from parking vehicles on city streets. But the City of Kitchener noted "parked cars are the main obstacle for crews trying to complete snow removal and loading activities."

"The ticket for parking on the street during a snow event is $80. Vehicles can also be towed if a maintenance vehicle is unable to get down a city street," the city said.

The snow and significant weather events were declared on Saturday. Kitchener and Waterloo have both extended their weather events multiple times.

Up to 70 cm of snow in some places

Environment Canada meteorologist Gerald Cheng told CBC News there was a volunteer who reported the 30 cm around Roseville in North Dumfries over the course of the long weekend.

"That's quite consistent with what we saw at Pearson Airport in Toronto [which was] 25 cm. So this was certainly an impactful storm," Cheng said. 

The City of Kitchener says since Feb. 12, the city has seen more than 70 cm of snow in some areas and called it an "unprecedented amount of snow that has accumulated."

Neither city gave a timeline for when the weather events may be over, but Waterloo officials said it's anticipated to "last through the weekend and into next week."

"Crews are working as quickly and safely as they can, but hauling away the snow takes extra time," a City of Waterloo release said.

"The city will declare an official end to the significant weather event as soon as possible, when roads and the active transportation network have been cleared to expected standards for winter use. Keeping vehicles off the roads creates much needed space for the work to get done."

Since the weekend, Cambridge's website has said the city's significant weather event would remain in effect until rescinded.

"Please be patient and check on neighbours who may need help," the City of Cambridge says.

"If you need to travel, use extra caution especially when pulling out of driveways and in intersections because of the large snow banks."

There are currently no alerts in effect from Environment Canada for Waterloo region, although the forecast shows a chance of flurries each day for the next week.

Temperatures are forecasted to rise above the freezing mark early next week.