Ottawa weather: Spring storm leaves a slippery mess in the capital

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Sidewalks, roads and driveways throughout Ottawa were coated with ice on Sunday, as a two-day spring storm freezing rain system kept a grip on the region.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), the city received 11 centimetres of snow between Friday night and Saturday morning. Ice pellets and freezing rain began overnight Saturday with winds up to 15 km/h.

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The ECCC forecast more ice pellets and freezing rain through the day Sunday with wind speeds of up to 20 km/h.

The freezing rain was expected wind down Sunday night, with a risk of thunderstorms overnight.

“After the freezing rain moves out of southern (Ontario), a line of thunderstorms Sunday evening could bring strong wind gusts of 90 km/h to parts of (southwestern Ontario). This line of storms is expected to weaken as it moves eastward Sunday night,” the ECCC said on social media on Sunday morning.

The weather system was expected to taper off on Monday with rain until noon, possibly followed by showers. However, it will be windy with wind gusts up to 50 km/h in the morning.

Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 17 C during the day but will plummet back to -7 C at night.

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Gina Ressler, a warning preparedness meteorologist with ECCC, said the precipitation was due to a quasi-stationary front pushing cold air from the north and warm air from the south, which was pushing precipitation across Ontario. Another storm system called the “Colorado Low” is forming and tracking across southern Ontario on Sunday.

The City of Ottawa said in a release Saturday afternoon that crews were clearing and treating sidewalks, priority roads and the city’s winter cycling network. Crews were also to remove snow in residential neighbourhoods when possible.

On Sunday, the city warned residents that a buildup of ice on sidewalks, roadways, trees and hydro wires could increase the risk of slippery travel conditions and power outages.

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On Saturday, Ontario Provincial Police reported a fatal collision at about 9:30 a.m. involving two tractor-trailers and a passenger vehicle on Highway 138, about 80 kilometres from Ottawa in the township of North Stormont.

Across eastern Ontario, the OPP said they responded to almost 70 collisions between midnight and 9 a.m. on Saturday.

The northbound lanes of Highway 416 were also closed between Highway 401 and Country Road 421 south of Spencerville for several hours on Saturday due to multiple collisions. According to the OPP, a northbound vehicle rolled into a ditch at around midnight. Another vehicle skidded out of the lane and struck the vehicle before entering the ditch.

Four people were transported to an area trauma centre with serious injuries and at least four others were transported to hospital with minor injuries, police said.

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On Sunday, Ottawa Fire Services said it had been called to Manotick Station Road and Pebblewoods Drive at about 5 p.m. because a vehicle had struck a hydro pole. Crews arrived to find the pole broken and lying across the car, and an occupant trapped inside. The vehicle was stabilized by firefighters before the person was extricated, the fire service said.

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