Winter wonderland turned to hazardous conditions this holiday season

A major winter event late December froze the region, like this stretch of road in South Easthope Township pictured on Dec. 28. Area roads and highways were closed due to accidents and local police were busy pulling drivers from the ditch.

Galen Simmons, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A powerful mix of freezing rain, rain and persistent snowfall kept road conditions difficult this holiday season.

What began as heavy freezing rain early on Boxing Day quickly turned to rain as temperatures rose, loosening a layer of ice that had begun forming on local roads and sidewalks. Later that evening, the weather shifted again, with snow continuing to fall on the area for the next several days. Road conditions deteriorated enough to prompt Perth County to declare a significant weather event on Dec. 28.

In response, officers with the Stratford Police Service were out in full force in hazardous conditions over the holidays, responding to stranded and stuck vehicles, and ensuring residents of St. Marys, Perth South and Stratford remained safe during the worst of the snow and ice.

“It’s a stressful situation for everyone in the community, including the emergency services workers who are engaged in addressing those matters and attending calls for service during that time,” community resource and media relations officer Const. Darren Fischer said. “Roadways are slippery and snow-covered and icy, and it’s a dangerous time to be travelling around on those roads, so I think we just have to be aware of that weather and be cautious ourselves along with passing on that message to others to be patient and careful while they’re out travelling.”

Fischer said public works staff in St. Marys, Perth South and Stratford worked closely with the police service, giving police an eight-to-10-hour heads up to ensure vehicles are not parked on the street where snow-clearing operations are planned to occur, making the job of keeping roadways clear easier for plow operators.

While Stratford police did not provide the number of collisions that occurred within the three municipalities during the worst of the holiday winter weather from Dec. 26, 2025, to Jan. 1 before press time on Tuesday, the local police service did say the only road closures during that time were short in duration and had to do with rescuing stuck vehicles and stranded drivers. Perth Line 26, for example, was closed for several hours Dec. 29, 2025, between Perth Road 113 Perth Road 111 as tow truck operators and emergency crews worked to remove multiple transport trucks that had become stuck and were blocking the road.

Perth County OPP, meanwhile, told the Times there were 62 collisions across the county, excluding the Stratford Police Service’s jurisdiction in Perth South, in that same time period.

OPP closed a number of roads in Perth County due to blowing and accumulating snow between Dec. 29, 2025, and Jan. 1 with all roads in the county reopened by Jan. 2. Closed roads between Dec. 30 and 31 included Highway 23 from both Highway 7 to Mitchel and Mitchell to Palmerston; Perth Line 33 from Perth Road 107 to Perth-Oxford Road; Perth Road 107 from Perth Line 56 to Perth Line 43; Perth Road 131 from Perth Line 55 to Perth Line 61; and Wilmot/Easthope Road from Highway 7/8 to Punkeydoodles Corners.

“The decision to close a road is not taken lightly,” regional media relations coordinator for the OPP West Region Derek Rogers told the Times. “Road closures may have significant impact on personal or commercial traffic. Public safety and officer safety are the main considerations when deciding to close a road.”