Environment Canada has issued an Orange Warning-Freezing Rain(link is external) for the Ottawa Region advising of a significant amount of freezing rain forecasted to arrive this evening and to continue through Wednesday night. This system is expected to bring freezing rain with ice accretion between to 10 to 20 millimetres possible.
Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways, and parking lots will become icy and slippery, and there is a possibility of power outages and tree damage from the ice accretion.
Safety is a priority for Public Works, and the team will be out in full force. Conditions will be hazardous, with the onset of freezing rain being uncertain. Throughout the duration of this event, travel should be avoided, and anyone who must travel is asked to plan ahead and give themselves extra travel time.
A Significant Weather Event has been declared
A Significant Weather Event (SWE) is declared when Environment Canada issues a Weather Hazard when weather that is either occurring or approaching has the potential to pose significant danger to users of Ottawa’s transportation network.
The intent of declaring a SWE is to notify the public that because of the forecast and/or current weather conditions, it will take longer than usual to restore the transportation network to expected conditions and that caution is to be exercised when using sidewalks, roads, and the winter cycling network.
Our response
In preparation for this event, Public Works entered into an “Enhanced” posture.
As part of the Public Works Department’s preparedness work, Roads and Parking Services are preparing salting equipment, filling salt domes and readying to deploy all resources. As the system moves into the region and precipitation begins, crews will be deployed to treat sidewalks, priority roads, bus routes, the Transitway and the winter cycling network.
Parks Maintenance will also be out in full force, pre-salting City facility parking lots (with a priority on Fire and Paramedic stations). Traffic Services will be monitoring traffic signals and managing mobility implications, with on-call personnel prepared for controller and signal issues. The Traffic Incident Management Group (TIMG) will be entering Enhanced Operations tomorrow morning to support during the morning commute. Forestry will monitor wind and ice accretion and is prepared to respond for downed trees and dangerous limbs.
While garbage and organics collection will continue as usual on Wednesday, there may be delays. Residents are asked to leave their bins out at the curb until they are emptied as it will take crews longer to complete their collection routes due to icy conditions. Any service impacts will be communicated. Residents can also sign up to receive City of Ottawa reminders and service alerts for their collection day by email or phone call at Ottawa.ca/CollectionCalendar.
Current flooding situation
The local Rideau, South Nation, and Mississippi Conservation Authorities have each issued Flood Watches in preparation for the additional precipitation forecast in this weather event. The levels on the Ottawa River are close to seasonal values with slight increases in levels expected in the Ottawa area.
While widespread flooding is not anticipated, water levels and flows on the Rideau River and smaller waterways may increase with possible flooding in low-lying areas, including ditches, swales, and stormwater features.
The Spring Freshet Task Force will continue to monitor conditions. Residents are encouraged to monitor river conditions. Information on sandbags and forecasting partner websites can be found at Ottawa.ca on the Spring flooding page.
Resident support is required
- Are you ready? To help ensure your safety and the safety of your family, now is a good time prepare your emergency kit(link is external).
- Service requests should only be created for emergencies, such as downed tree limbs blocking sidewalks, roads or the cycling network.
- During periods of higher snowmelt and rainfall, residents are reminded to monitor sump pumps and overland drainage.
- Remember: no ice is safe ice. Residents should exercise caution and to supervise children and pets around all waterways.
Next steps
The City will monitor conditions throughout this weather event and is prepared to coordinate response activities as required.
We appreciate your understanding and support as many of our Public Works crews necessarily pivot from typical maintenance activities to respond to this weather event.
