Friday’s winter storm, which is expected to dump at least 15 centimeters of snow, canceled school buses in eastern Ontario and led to road safety warnings.
Winter storm warnings remain in effect for many communities along the Ottawa River, including Ottawa-Gatineau, Prescott-Russell, Lanark County and the Arnprior and Barrie Bay areas. Cornwall is also included.
Overall, 15 to 25 centimeters of snow is expected in Ottawa before tapering off as the afternoon turns into evening. Cornwall may get a little less.
Snow warnings are in place for the Bancroft and Pembroke areas.
Pembroke could get close to 6 inches of occasional heavy snow, Bancroft could get 15 to 20. Snow is also expected to taper off by evening.
There are special snow weather forecasts for Friday on Lake Ontario.
Another 10 inches or so is expected, with possibly a little less near Belleville and a little more near Brockville.
Travel worries, delays
The weather station at Ottawa’s main airport reported light snow or sleet since early Thursday morning, with 11 centimeters falling on Thursday. In the entire month before that, there were three centimeters.
“Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve,” Environment Canada wrote in the warning.
“Surfaces such as highways, roads, trails and parking lots may become impassable due to snow accumulation.”
Map of Southern Ontario warnings in red, watches in yellow and special weather statements as of approximately 7 AM ET, January 13, 2023 (Environment Canada)
The school bus cancellation covers English and French schools in Ottawa, surrounding areas including Renfrew County and the Kingston and Belleville area.
Many bus agencies say schools remain open; check with your council or school about the specific options it offers.
The school board and service centers of Western Quebec say buses are running, but delays are possible due to the snow.
The City of Ottawa issued a daytime winter parking ban from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, with its usual exceptions for some permit holders and zones.
OC Transpo says it expects some delays and is taking its longer articulated buses off the road when possible.
Ottawa International Airport authorities say they are seeing some delays and are reminding people to check their flights before getting there.
Ottawa started Friday at -1 C and temperatures are expected to slowly drop as the day progresses to an overnight low of -9 C. Temperatures on Saturday and Sunday are expected to be around the mid-January average of -6 C at the warmest and -16 C at the coldest.
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