Winter storm blankets Ottawa with 38 cm of snow

Ottawa is looking like a winter wonderland just over a week before Christmas, as a major snowstorm blanketed parts of the capital with more than 30 cm of snow.

A snowfall warning for the city of Ottawa ended just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday. 

The official snowfall total for Friday was 33.2 cm at the Ottawa Airport. Saturday saw another 5 cm, approximately, for a snowfall total of 38 cm for the entire storm. Gatineau saw 30 cm at the airport Friday. 

Environment Canada updated its snowfall warning for Ottawa on Saturday morning, calling for another 2 to 6 cm. 

"Snow is expected to ease to light snow on Saturday. Another few centimetres are expected Saturday before the snow moves into Quebec," it said.

Other parts of the region saw varying amounts of snow. Cornwall received 35 cm, while Kingston saw around 10 cm. In Eldorado, Ont., north of Belleville, 28 cm was recorded. Deep River, Ont. saw around 10 cm, while 24 cm was reported in Carp. Kemptville got 14 cm and Merrickville saw twice as much, with 28 cm. Environment Canada recorded 14.1 mm of precipitation in Pembroke, but no official snowfall total.

The first major snowstorm of the season forced the cancellation of schools buses on Friday morning, while dozens of flights were delayed or cancelled at the Ottawa International Airport.

The city's fleet of 500 pieces of snowplows and other equipment have been working around the clock, with the initial focus on clearing snow from the priority roads, priority sidewalks and the winter cycling network.

"All available resources were deployed," Bryden Denyes, city of Ottawa manager for urban roads, told CTV News Ottawa.

"When we do have a larger scale storm like this, it's always all hands on deck to treat the conditions that are out there."

City officials say residents will start seeing snowplows in neighbourhoods Friday afternoon.

"We expect to move into residential neighbourhoods by early afternoon and cleanup will continue throughout the evening and overnight," the city said on Twitter.

The city of Ottawa has issued an overnight winter weather parking ban from 7 p.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Saturday. Only vehicles with on-street parking permits will be allowed to park on city streets during the winter weather parking ban.

Ontario Provincial Police said officers responded to multiple collisions, including vehicles in the ditch, on Highway 416, Highway 417 and Highway 401.

The snowfall warning stretches along the Hwy. 401 corridor from Kingston to the Ontario-Quebec border. Environment Canada says Kingston will see 15 to 25 cm of snow, while Brockville, Prescott, Kemptville and Cornwall areas could see up to 35 cm of snow by Saturday morning.

The OTTAWA sign as snow falls in downtown Ottawa. (Natalie van Rooy/CTV News Ottawa)

OTTAWA WEATHER

Periods of snow Saturday with a high of 1 C. 

Overnight, a 40 per cent chance of flurries with a low of -7 C.

Sunday. Partly cloudy and a high of -2 C.

Monday. Partly cloudy, 30 per cent chance of flurries. High 0 C.