Another blast of winter weather moved into Ottawa with snow and the risk of freezing drizzle expected tonight and on Tuesday.
Environment Canada is calling for 2 to 4 centimetres of snow before precipitation changes to freezing drizzle later this evening. The snow began falling in Ottawa just after 2 p.m.
A freezing drizzle advisory is in effect for Ottawa and eastern Ontario for tonight through Tuesday morning, warning freezing drizzle could cause ice build-up on some surfaces.
“Snow with a risk of freezing rain this evening is expected to change to freezing drizzle overnight. Freezing drizzle is forecast to continue into Tuesday morning before temperatures rise above the freezing mark,” the advisory says. “Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery. Freezing drizzle can produce thin, hard-to-detect layers of ice.”
Twenty centimetres of snow was recorded in Ottawa Saturday night and Sunday morning.
City of Ottawa staff are prepared for the “high potential” of freezing rain tonight.
“Freezing rain definitely causes some challenges that are much different than snow conditions,” Bryden Denyes, area manager of Road Services, told CTV News Ottawa.
“When we see the freezing rain, ice coats everything at the same time so we have to deploy all of our resources and it’s a large network to get across. We have to make sure we’re ready, monitoring that and deploying immediately when we see that freezing rain starting.”
Denyes says the main defence against freezing rain is a “salt application.”
“The reason we use that is it’s a deicing agent, so it lowers that freezing point of water to minimize ice buildup.”
Environment Canada’s forecast calls for a cloudy day with periods of snow in the afternoon. High -6 C, with the wind chill making it feel like -15.
Periods of snow becoming mixed with freezing rain early this evening and ending overnight then cloudy with 60 percent chance of freezing drizzle. Temperature rising to -1 C by morning.
Cloudy with a 60 per cent chance of freezing drizzle on Tuesday, changing to a 40 per cent chance of showers in the morning. High 7 C.
Showers are in the forecast for Wednesday. High 3 C.
The outlook for Thursday calls for a mix of sun and cloud with a 40 per cent chance of flurries. High -3 C.
A mix of sun and cloud on Friday. High -7 C.
Freezing Rain Warning in Kingston
A freezing rain warning is in effect for the Kingston and Brockville areas. Environment Canada says some areas could see 2 to 4 mm of freezing rain through the day.
Ontario Provincial Police said Monday afternoon that “road conditions are getting worse as the freezing rain and sleet has impacted travel times” in the Kingston area.
Several single-vehicle collisions had been reported due to the road conditions and “drivers going too fast for conditions,” the OPP said.
Police said black ice was reported on Highway 401 in the Prescott area in the afternoon.
December snowfall
Ottawa has already received 34.6 cm of snow in December.
Environment Canada says 8 cm of snow fell on Dec. 4, 3.4 cm on Dec. 5, 11.6 cm on Dec. 7 and 8.4 cm on Dec. 8.
The 34.6 cm of snow in the first week of December already surpasses the December 2023 snowfall total of 27.5 cm. Ottawa received 96.4 cm of snow in December 2022.