Freezing rain and drizzle to coat Ottawa with ice

Another blast of winter weather has moved into Ottawa with snow and freezing rain.

Snow began falling in Ottawa just after 2 p.m. Environment Canada said 4 centimetres had been recorded as of 8 p.m. 

A freezing rain warning was issued just before 9 p.m. as the icy precipitation began falling in Ottawa.

"Freezing rain mixed with snow this evening is expected to change to freezing drizzle overnight. Freezing drizzle may 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."

The warning is in place for parts of eastern Ontario including Carleton Place, Smiths Falls, Kemptville, Cornwall and Prescott and Russell.

City of Ottawa staff said they were prepared for the 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."

OC Transpo is also preparing for the weather, with a plan in place to keep the O-Train Line 1 operating.

"Out-of-service trains will run overnight tonight to help keep overhead wires that power the train clear of ice," OC Transpo says.  "Our maintainer is also using anti-icing solution in key areas to reduce the ice build up on the overhead wires that power the train."

The transit service is reminding riders to expect delays and plan ahead if they're taking public transit tonight.

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Environment Canada's forecast calls for 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 5 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 was in effect for the Kingston and Brockville areas for part of the day. Environment Canada said some areas could see 2 to 4 mm of freezing rain.

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.

"If you don't have to be on the roads, please stay off. If you are driving now or this evening, please SLOW DOWN. We have had numerous collisions around the region as snow and freezing rain moves in and conditions are getting worse," OPP said on social media.

"One problem area has been Highway 401. Leeds OPP has multiple collisions from the of Brockville to the east side of Brockville and into the into Grenville OPP area. And the 401 eastbound, just east of the 416, is blocked for jackknifed tractor trailer."

By Monday evening, the freezing rain warning had been replaced with a freezing drizzle advisory cautioning of freezing drizzle overnight and into Tuesday morning.

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.