Winter storm blankets Ottawa with 16 cm of snow on Friday

The first significant snowstorm of 2023 blanketed Ottawa with 16 cm of fresh snow on Friday, slowing down the commute for drivers and transit riders.

Now, officials say the city of Ottawa's full fleet of snowplows and equipment are deployed to clear roads and sidewalks.

"Staff and crews are focused on our sidewalks, priority road network and winter cycling network," Quentin Levesque, director of roads and parking services, said Friday morning.

"We'll continue that work throughout the day today to improve those conditions out on our transportation network."

A winter storm warning ended for Ottawa just before 6 p.m. Friday.

Environment Canada says between 10 p.m. Thursday and 4 p.m. Friday, a total of 16 cm of snow has been recorded at the Ottawa Airport. Another 7.3 cm of snow fell on Thursday in Ottawa before freezing rain and rain moved through the area.

Environment Canada is reporting 14 cm of snow at the Gatineau Airport, as of 4 p.m.

The storm forced the cancellation of all school buses in Ottawa and eastern Ontario on Friday, and slowed down the commute on roads.

Levesque says snowplows have started to move into residential neighbourhoods to clear the snow, but notes the intensity of the snow Friday morning slowed down the clean up.

Levesque warns it will take a few days to clean up from the storm.

"This will be a longer duration clean up, just given the significance of the amount of snow accumulation that's out there we'll be working into the weekend."

OC Transpo is warning commuters to expect delays on bus routes today due to the road conditions. The transit service is reducing the number of articulated buses where it can on routes.

The Confederation Line is operating normally with no delays as of 6:30 p.m., according to OC Transpo.

• OC Transpo shows off winter preparations for O-Train line

Ontario Provincial Police urged motorists to avoid all "unnecessary travel" in the Ottawa area due to the storm.  A video released by the OPP says Ottawa OPP officers responded to multiple collisions on Highway 416 and 417 Friday morning.

Leeds County OPP also reported multiple collisions on Hwy. 401 between Gananoque and Mallorytown. A section of Hwy. 401 in the Brockville area was closed for a couple of hours Friday afternoon due to collisions.

Parking ban

The city of Ottawa issued a daytime winter weather parking ban for Friday to allow crews to plow streets "easily and effectively."

The winter parking ban will be in effect from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday.

Only vehicles with on-street parking permits can park on city streets during the winter weather parking ban.

Six park and rides will be open for parking during the winter weather parking ban. The locations are:

• Riverview (at Earl Armstrong)
• Innovation (at Innovation Drive)
• Chapel Hill
• Nepean Woods (at Strandherd Drive)
• Greenboro
• Leitrim

Vehicles may also park at the following locations during the winter weather parking ban:

• Kanata Recreation Centre – 100 Charlie Rogers Place
• Minto Recreation Centre – 3500 Cambrian Road
• Ray Friel Recreation Centre – 1585 Tenth Line Road
• Tom Brown Arena – 141 Bayview Station Road
• Strathcona Park – 25 Range Road
• Jules Morin Park – 400 Clarence Street East
• Centrepointe Park – 260 Centrepointe Drive

Laurier Avenue near Ottawa City Hall on Friday. Environment Canada says Ottawa could see up to 25 cm of snow during the first significant storm of 2023. (Josh Pringle/CTV News Ottawa)

Ottawa weather

Here is a look at the forecast for Ottawa.

Snow ending overnight then cloudy. Amount 2 to 4 cm. Low minus 9 C.

Sunny on Saturday, with a high of minus 6 C.

The outlook for Sunday calls for sunshine and a high of minus 7 C.

Monday will see sunshine and a high of minus 8 C.