Ottawa sees 15 cm of snow Tuesday

The significant snowfall that has coated Ottawa with 15 cm of snow during a storm that saw some tricky travel conditions at times.

Environment Canada's snowfall warning ended just before 4 p.m. According to meteorologists, Ottawa saw 15 cm of snow at the Ottawa Airport by 3 p.m., while the Gatineau Airport recorded 14 cm.

Some school buses in the region have been cancelled. School buses in Ottawa are still running.

The weather agency warned of peak snowfall rates up to 4 cm an hour and reduced visibility in heavy snow. According to Environment Canada, Gatineau saw 5 cm fall between 12 and 1 p.m., while snow in Ottawa fell at a rate of around 2 to 3 cm per hour most of the day.

Ottawa police said they responded to 42 collisions as of 3:30 p.m.

Ottawa residents were out in the snow Tuesday morning. Some said they're tired of the season.

"Today is nice and light, but always at the end of the driveway it always sucks, especially when you're on a busy road," said Jo Maisonneuve. "I'm not a winter fan; it hurts my body."

Others took advantage of the weather to get active.

"I figured there's enough snow out on the ground right now, got to go out to go pick up a parcel and no better way to do that than on the skis," Nick Roseman said.

OC Transpo warned Tuesday of service delays due to the weather.

There is also a risk of freezing drizzle late Tuesday afternoon.

Ottawa has seen around 280 cm of snow since Nov. 1. The record for snowiest winter is nearly 464 cm set in between 1886 and 1887. In second place was the winter of 1970 and 1971, with 444 cm. Ottawa also saw a particularly snowy winter in 2007 and 2008 with 432 cm.

WINTER PARKING BAN

The city of Ottawa is instituting an overnight parking ban starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, running until 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Parking on city streets is not allowed during such bans, allowing city crews to plow streets more easily.

Bylaw will be ticketing and towing cars parked on the street overnight.

MORE SNOW LATER THIS WEEK

After the snow tapers off, Tuesday night will be clear with a low of -8 C.

Wednesday will see a high of 1 C with a 40 per cent chance of flurries late in the afternoon. On Thursday, there's a 60 per cent chance of flurries with a high of 0 C.