Forecast and conditions
Freezing drizzle and foggy conditions continue today, with the temperature forecasted to rise to 5 degrees. Environment Canada has issued a Rainfall Warning for the Ottawa region. Precipitation is expected to transition to rain this evening and continue right through until late tomorrow morning. Rain may taper off on Wednesday morning, but it is expected to re-intensify again on Wednesday afternoon. Given the frozen ground, significant amounts of water due to snowmelt and rain could accumulate on roads and low-lying areas. Rain will be heavy at times with rainfall amounts of 30 to 40 millimetres possible before ending by Wednesday evening when rain changes to snow as temperatures drop below the freezing mark.
Residents are reminded to exercise caution when using the transportation network. Freezing drizzle can produce a thin layer of ice creating slippery conditions that are difficult to detect on areas such as sidewalks, roads, pathways and the winter cycling network. Please adjust to the conditions of the network.
Our response
Crews will focus on cleaning up and treating residential streets and sidewalks to ensure any ice build up is addressed as well as tidy up some areas from yesterday’s snowfall. Across the City and as this system evolves, supervisors will keep a close eye on sidewalks, roads, and the winter cycling network, identify any areas of concern and deploy resources as needed. With the incoming rain, we will also monitor areas that are prone to localized flooding and address any water pooling by ensuring that catch basins and ditches are open and able to take in water.
In the meantime, we are asking for anyone who can to please ensure their local catch basin is clear and able to take in water. With over 100,000 catch basins in the City, we cannot do it alone and would appreciate any support you can offer.
Find your nearest catch basin using our catch basin locator map. Need to report a blocked catch basin? Let us know!
Next steps
We will monitor the network over the 48 hours, should the need arise, crews will be deployed as required.
