Parked cars a hazard, but mild temperatures aid snow-clearing in Brockville, Ont.

While the snow has stopped, cleanup continues across eastern Ontario after the latest storm hit the region.

As snowplow operator Josh Oomen climbs into his truck on Saturday morning, he knew he would be busy after 15 centimetres of snow fell overnight.

"My foreman already talked to me about going to start into our two's, which are main route roads," he says from the driver's seat, with CTV News Ottawa invited along for a behind-the-scenes look.

The city's road system is broken down into numbers from two to five, with five meaning lesser priority, which includes residential streets like dead ends and cul-de-sacs.

Main roads are always priority, according to Oomen.

"Our main priority is to get them cleaned up for ambulances and main core hospital routes. Everything connects to the hospital," he said.

Mother Nature was a huge help around midday, with milder temperatures meaning snow was melting quickly on roads.

"Temperature is everything," Oomen said. "In minus 30, you aren't going to get your roads clean. If you've got plus weather, they are pretty much going to clean themselves."

Oomen is doing what is called kickbacks, using a 14-foot blade on the right side of his truck to push snow further off the shoulder of the road.

"We kick back everything curb to curb and that's where you get everything rolled back so you have your full driving lanes, turning lanes," he said.

"When I first started, one of my biggest hurdles was working the wing, and a lot of time you have got to have wing hours before you can run it on your own," he added. "The wing, they stick out far enough that you can catch poles and cars."

Once that job is done, bus stops are cleared and sidewalk plows follow.

But the biggest obstacle during snow removal is parked cars.

"So, this is a perfect example of a street I'm going to have to come back too" he noted, driving down Windsor Drive.

"If a car is parked on the street, then that spot's got to be cleaned up," he said.

A parked car on Windsor Drive means this spot cannot be plowed until the car is moved. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Even with an overnight parking ban in effect, cars remain scattered on streets throughout the city.

"The operators take notes of where they have to go around and we have to go back later on once the cars have moved," said supervisor Yanick Beaudin.

That makes for a longer cleanup for city crews, and owners could face fines or have their vehicles towed.

"When we have to go around vehicles and just that the mess that it leaves behind, it's not good for the public and it's not good for us," Beaudin said.

"We declared a significant weather event earlier in the week, knowing that this system was coming and the parking ban stays in effect until we call it off, which will be at the end of this event," he said, understanding it can be difficult for drivers to find additional parking.

"If I had advice for people, if you had any neighbours or know anybody who's got space in their driveway, take advantage of it during an event like this and it will go a long way for cleanup for us," Beaudin said.

As for plow operators putting snow back onto freshly cleaned driveways, Beaudin says it's not deliberate.

"Unfortunately if you look at the plows, that's the technology, it takes it from left puts it to the right," he said.

The right-side wing clears snow from the shoulders of the road. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

The city says it takes around 48 hours to clean up after a storm this size, meaning all streets and sidewalks should be clear by Sunday.

"We've done really well (this season)," Beaudin said. "It's been, I feel, like a relentless winter. I'm hoping that this is the last one and we can taper off and head into the spring."

As Oomen circles the north end neighbourhood clearing snowbanks, he says the job has his perks.

"It's nice to see what you've done over 12-hour shift, so it's rewarding to see what the end result is after plowing," he said. "Today is definitely nice because of the mild temperature, the salt works, and this is what we have, clear roads."