APRIL JUST KEEPS ON FOOLING
Snow, ice and rain wreak havoc
The messy winter storm that has threatened Ottawa all weekend arrived Sunday afternoon with freezing rain and ice pellets that were making streets and sidewalks slippery.
The City of Ottawa urged people to drive, bike and walk “with caution.” The city confirmed staff would be salting and plowing “as necessary throughout the day/ night.” There were 120 city trucks salting streets Sunday evening, the city added.
Ottawa police and Ottawa Paramedic Services reported one road crash with injuries, on River Road near Roger Stevens Drive. A pickup truck slid off the road around 1:20 p.m. and slammed into a tree. The male driver, who suffered chest injuries, was taken to Kemptville District Hospital.
OPP confirmed there were crashes on Highways 401 and 417, but details weren’t immediately available.
Environment Canada predicted the freezing rain would last until Monday morning. The storm, which came across the U.S. Midwest, dumping heavy, un-springlike amounts of snow across much of southwestern and Western Ontario, was originally expected to hit the Ottawa region Saturday.
However, as snow piled up to the west and south of the city — nearly 20 centimetres fell in Lanark Highlands — accumulation in Ottawa was expected to total only two to four cm of snow and ice pellets. Winds out of the northwest at 30 km/h, gusting to 50 km/h, created some drifting across roads in open areas.
Environment Canada was still advising people to avoid unnecessary travel.
Toronto, hard hit by freezing rain on Saturday, suffered widespread power outages.
OPP said there were roughly 750 crashes on highways surrounding Toronto on Saturday, and there had been around 700 more by Sunday evening. None was fatal.
More than 15,000 people were without power in southern Ontario on Sunday morning.
Toronto’s downtown Billy Bishop Airport cancelled all departing flights and received only one arrival all day on Sunday, while more than 600 flights were cancelled at Pearson International.
The cancellations had a spillover effect on flights to and from Ottawa, where dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed. Travellers were advised to check the airport website at www.yow.ca for updates.
Sunday’s high was expected to reach an unseasonably cool -3, and fall to a low of -5 overnight. The average high temperature for this date is 10.7.
Freezing rain was expected to continue into Monday before changing to rain, with a high temperature of just 2.
The weather agency is calling for clearing skies on Wednesday, then a gradual warming with expected highs of 9 on Friday and 11 on Saturday.
Ottawa’s temperature hasn’t climbed into double digits since Jan. 12.