Ottawa was ravaged by high winds and heavy snowfall on Monday during a once-in-a-decade snowstorm.
Last week, the city issued a significant weather event warning after Environment Canada announced a large snowstorm would hit Ottawa Monday morning.
Snowfall began around 1 a.m., according to Environment Canada, blanketing Ottawa with an average of seven to ten centimetres of snow per hour. A total of between 30 and 40 centimetres of snowfall was predicted to land by Monday evening.
In a statement via Twitter, Alain Gonthier, director of the city’s Roads and Parking Services, said a snowstorm such as this is considered unusual for the region.
“We have a big storm that’s coming forward,” says Gonthier. “This is to the level where we typically see these weather events about once every ten years, so this is not a typical weather event.”
Ottawa issued a parking ban on Sunday, in effect for 24 hours beginning on Monday at 7 p.m. The ban cited delays in snow cleanup, saying it would take longer than usual to return conditions to normal.
In a media availability on Monday, Quintin Levesque, director of Roads and Parking Services for the city of Ottawa, acknowledged potential difficulties impacting snow removal process.
“Events of this size have proven challenging,” says Levesque. “We have an event that has high accumulation rates in a very short period of time. It does prove challenging for us to keep up as far as clearing those sidewalks and those roadways.”
Levesque added that Omicron transmission isn’t currently a factor affecting staffing levels and the city’s subsequent ability to proceed with snow removal.
The city also announced impacts to some services on Sunday, stating waste collection would be delayed until the following day, and all public library branches and vaccination centres would be closed until Tuesday. Additionally, the city indicated that O-Train and OC Transpo services would be delayed due to the severe weather.
Ottawa schools have been closed to in-person learning since the beginning of the year due to surging Omicron rates. A return to in-person learning was scheduled for Monday.
In a statement on Twitter, the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) announced the return to in-person learning would be delayed until Tuesday.
“With a major snowstorm headed to Ottawa, the OCDSB is shifting to remote learning for all students, including those in specialized education program classes,” says OCDSB. “There will be no in-person learning at OCDSB schools.”
In addition to heavy snowfall, the city warned of blowing snow and high-speed winds of up to 50 kilometres, severely lowering visibility on the roads. Residents were encouraged to stay off the roads and limit non-essential travel until the roads have been cleared.
Monday’s storm was the worst to hit Ottawa since Feb. 16, 2016, when the city was covered by over 51 centimetres of snow in one day. The February 2016 storm is the worst in recent memory, according to the Weather Network.
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