Ottawa digs out after biggest snowstorm of the season as more snow expected tonight

The capital received more than 20 centimetres of snow on Thursday, and more is expected Friday night. CTV’s Natalie van Rooy has the story.

The cleanup is underway after the biggest winter storm of the season blanketed Ottawa with 21 centimetres of snow, but more snow is expected tonight.

Environment Canada has lifted the snowfall warning for Ottawa and eastern Ontario. The forecast calls for 2-4 centimetres of snow tonight.

CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at what you need to know about the storm.

Road conditions

Motorists are being advised to expect a slow commute on roads across Ottawa due to the snow.

The City of Ottawa says the big dig of the snow continues, but there are some areas still snow-covered and the cleanup will take longer than normal.

“Mixed in with the wind and the extreme cold we’ve had, it is taking a little bit longer than we had anticipated,” Bryden Denyes, area manager of Ottawa’s roads, told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll.

“The main roads, there will be some snow packed and snow-covered areas, but a lot of them will be wet and slushy.”

While main routes are mostly bare, residential streets are snow-covered in many neighbourhoods across the city.

The City of Ottawa says “all resources have been deployed” to clear and treat sidewalks, priority roads, bus routes and the Transitway.

Crews were expected to begin clearing residential streets last night and overnight.

“We’ve gone through the bulk of residential streets. There will be some cleanup required because some of them we may have started a bit earlier – with that snow we’ll have to tough up again, but they’ll be going through all those again today and tonight, as well," Denyes said.

School buses

School buses are running today for all schools in Ottawa.

School buses are cancelled for the Upper Canada District School Board, the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario and Zone 4 Madawaska in Renfrew County.

• School buses running in Ottawa on Friday, buses cancelled in parts of eastern Ontario

Travel

Travellers are being advised to check their flight status before heading to the Ottawa International Airport for flights today.

Three flights are cancelled at the Ottawa Airport, while several flights are delayed.

Forecast

Ottawa residents and visitors will receive a break from the snow today, but more snow is expected tonight.

The forecast calls for sunshine this morning, then increasing cloudiness this afternoon. High -11 C.

Periods of snow beginning this evening. Amount 2 to 4 cm. Low -13 C with the wind chill making it feel like -19.

Saturday will be cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of flurries. High -1 C.

Sunday will see a mix of sun and cloud with a 40 per cent chance of flurries. High -4 C.

The outlook for Monday calls for cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of flurries. High -7 C.

The normal temperatures for this time of year are a high of -6 C and a low of -19 C.