Snow mixed with rain slowing down clearing operations: City

The City of Ottawa says the heavy, wet snow mixed with rain is slowing down their ability to clear streets and sidewalks.

The first big winter storm of the season dumped snow, freezing rain, and rain on Ottawa.

Snow started falling in Ottawa just before 8 p.m., quickly covering roads and sidewalks. The city of Ottawa said Monday morning it had received 14 centimetres of snow overnight. The precipitation turned to freezing rain at around 3 a.m., lasting for about six hours before turning to rain as the temperature rose above the freezing mark.

Environment Canada said Ottawa received 25 mm of mixed precipitation in the last 24 hours.

Ottawa police said there had been 32 collisions on city roads through the morning, none with serious injuries.

School buses for English and French public and Catholic boards in Ottawa were cancelled Monday. Schools remained open.

OC Transpo warned of possible delays on some routes due to the weather, and urged commuters to plan their trips ahead of time. Several bus stops were out of service due to local road conditions.

The city of Ottawa has issued a daytime parking ban for Monday. Only vehicles with on-street parking permits are permitted to park on city streets between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

In a statement on its website, the City of Ottawa said the heaviness of the snow is making snow-clearing operations difficult.

"In many cases, our sidewalk plows have had to switch from pushing blades to snow blowers. When we are using snow blowers, we move at roughly half the pace of our regular machines. Even with the blades, our sidewalks plows are moving at a slower pace due to the weight of the snow," the city said.

The winter parking ban will be lifted at 7 p.m. but the city is still asking residents to keep their cars off of the street overnight, if possible, to aid in the clearing of catch basins.

"We have called in additional resources who are working exclusively to manage water pooling and drainage issues. Doing this now will help us to avoid icy build-ups overnight," the city said. "Because we are facing drainage issues in many areas, those who are able are asked to please clear their local catch basin to promote water draining from the road. This is the best way to prevent ice from forming on the roadways."

Winter storm and freezing rain warnings were also in effect for parts of eastern Ontario stretching from the Upper Ottawa Valley to Prescott-Russell.

Special weather statements

Special weather statements remain in effect along the St. Lawrence, warning of heavy rainfall in places like Kingston, Gananoque, Brockville and Cornwall. Local amounts of up to 25 mm of rain can be expected.

In the Kingston area, a wind warning also remains in effect, with gusts of up to 90 km/h in the forecast.

Paramedics respond to snow-clearing calls

Ottawa paramedics said they responded to two emergency calls involving snow-clearing activities Monday morning.

Around 7 a.m., they were called to Innes and Pagé roads where a man in his 40s suffered a heart attack after helping someone get their vehicle through heavy snow. He was rushed to the Ottawa Heart Institute.

Elewhere in the city, a man in shi late 60s collapsed as he was shovelling snow on his driveway. Bystanders performed CPR until paramedics arrived. He was taken to hospital in life-threatening condition.

Ottawa's forecast

Periods of rain should end by Monday evening. As the temperature drops, there will be a chance of flurries late in the evening. The sky should clear overnight. The low is minus 10 C with a wind chill of minus 14.

Tuesday is looking mainly cloudy, with a high of minus 5 C.

Wednesday could see clouds with a chance of flurries. High minus 5 C.

The outlook for Thursday is cloudy with a high of minus 7 C.

--With contributions from CTV News Ottawa's Leah Larocque, Michael Woods, Josh Pringle, and Ted Raymond.