Environment Canada has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the Ottawa region and as such, it is important to provide an update on the major weather system we currently are monitoring closely for late Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning. This system has the potential to be an impactful winter storm with heavy snow, ice pellets, and freezing rain. How this weather system is tracking is still somewhat uncertain, and as a result, expected snowfall amounts and precipitation types may change over the next 12 to 24 hours.
It is anticipated that further warnings may be issued as this event draws nearer.
Our response in preparation for tomorrow’s event
As we progress through the day, crews will continue to clear and treat sidewalks, touch up arterial roads and work in residential areas to clean up and treat icy conditions leftover from yesterday’s event. They will also continue to focus on cleaning up any remaining problem areas such as bus stops, crosswalks, intersections, pedestrian islands, corners, and cul-de-sacs. The Roads and Parking Services team are getting prepared and will be ready to respond to tomorrow’s event!
Forecast and conditions
Significant snowfall is expected Tuesday, transitioning to freezing rain and rain for some areas overnight into Wednesday with strong winds causing potential whiteout conditions. The amount of snow will depend on how quickly precipitation changes to ice pellets or freezing rain, although 10 to 20 centimetres of snow is possible. Rapidly accumulating snow could make travel difficult.
We encourage those who can, to plan ahead today by completing their errands and to find off-street parking as travel should be limited unless it is essential. If you have to travel, please exercise extreme caution by adjusting to the conditions of the transportation network.
Next steps
The Roads and Parking Services team is monitoring this major weather system and the transportation network closely. Given the forecast remains fluid, we are prepared to adjust our response based on the changing conditions.
