Winter weather travel advisory ends for Ottawa

Environment Canada has ended a second winter weather travel advisory for Ottawa, after warning some areas of the capital region could see 4 to 8 centimetres of snow by Sunday morning.

The advisories were issued as lake effect snow squalled off Lake Ontario move through the region.

"Periods of lake effect snow off of Lake Ontario is expected to continue to affect the area this evening clearing overnight," Environment Canada said Saturday evening.

"Travel may be hazardous due to sudden changes in the weather."

The weather agency had called for 5 to 10 cm of snow for Ottawa on Saturday, but Ottawa only saw light flurries in the afternoon as the snow squalls stayed out of the area.

The forecast calls for flurries ending near 12 a.m. and then cloudy with a chance of flurries. Low minus 5 C.

Sunday will see a mix of sun and cloud. High minus 3 C, with the temperature falling to minus 7 C in the afternoon.

The outlook for Monday is cloudy with a chance of flurries. High plus 1 C.

Tuesday will be sunny with a high of 0 C.

Ottawa received just over 2 cm of snow on Friday.

WARMER GREAT LAKES LEADING TO LAKE-EFFECT SYSTEM

Environment Canada Senior Climatologist David Phillips tells Newstalk 580 CFRA’s “CFRA Live with Andrew Pinsent” that the lake-effect snow Ottawa is getting is a small part of a system that has dumped nearly two metres of snow onto parts of New York.

“The Great Lakes are quite a ways removed from you, but it tells you these streamers, these bursts of lake-effect can reach 400 kilometres away,” Phillips said.

Phillips says the Great Lakes are “hot tubs” right now.

“We had a warm summer and we didn’t see a cool-off, dramatically, at all in September, October and November,” he said. “The lakes are pretty warm. I wouldn’t go swimming there, but they’re probably about seven degrees warmer than they would normally be.”

WEATHER WARNINGS AND ADVISORIES ACROSS EASTERN ONTARIO

Lake effect snowstorms hitting Buffalo and western New York are moving into all of eastern Ontario, bringing up to 45 cm of snow to some areas.

A snow squall warning remains in effect for Prescott, Brockville, Gananoque, Mallorytown, Kingston, Napanee and Picton.

Environment Canada says some areas could see 10 to 30 cm of snow by Sunday morning.

"An intense snow squall off Lake Ontario has now drifted north of the region. A cold front will push through the region tonight which will push the squall back south into the region," Environment Canada said. "By early Sunday morning the snow squall is expected to shift south of the area as the front clears the region."

Kingston received 5 to 10 cm of snow overnight, while Belleville saw several centimetres on Friday. Volunteer observers reported between 5 and 15 cm. 

A winter weather travel advisory issued for Kemptville, Merrickville, Westport, Cornwall, Maxville, Alexandria, Morrisburg, Long Sault and Winchester calls for up to 20 cm of snow in some areas by Sunday morning.

The snowstorms hammered the Buffalo, N.Y. area with nearly two metres of snow this weekend. The National Weather Service warned the storm has the potential to "paralyze the hardest-hit communities" around western New York. 

--With files from CTV's Kimberley Johnson.