OTTAWA -- After a beautiful Family Day long weekend, a record-breaking snowstorm could bury the national capital region on Tuesday.
And the latest winter storm will have commuters and motorists keeping an eye on the forecast and City of Ottawa parking alerts at the start of the shortened work week.
The forecast calls for 10 cm of snow to fall on Ottawa, which would set a record for greatest snowfall on Feb. 18 in Ottawa history. The record for greatest snowfall on Feb. 18 is 9.1 cm set in 1956.
A Winter Weather Travel Advisory has been issued for Ottawa, Prescott-Russell, Smiths Falls – Lanark – Sharbot Lake, and Renfrew – Pembroke and Barry’s Bay.
In a statement, Environment Canada says “a band of snow will move over central and eastern Ontario overnight, reaching the Ottawa-area towards morning. Snow will continue well into Tuesday afternoon.”
Total snowfall amounts near 10 cm are expected, with a few locally higher amounts near 15 cm possible near the Ottawa River.
With more than 7 cm of snow in the forecast, the City of Ottawa may declare a “Winter Weather Parking Ban.” On Feb. 7, the city issued a daytime parking ban during a snowstorm that dumped 18.7 cm of snow on Ottawa, meaning vehicles were prohibited from parking on city streets.
By-law officers issued just over 3,400 tickets for vehicles parked on the streets during the new daytime winter parking ban.
CTV News Ottawa asked the city about the prospects of a parking ban being issued on Tuesday.
In a statement, the city said "we are monitoring the forecast and if we get higher than expected snowfall, we may call a parking ban once the snowfall stops, which would likely be through the overnight hours."
The city will have more information as the snow flies.
You can sign up for City of Ottawa Winter Parking e-Alerts on the City of Ottawa’s website.
